Going For Broke Chapter Summary

The role of the Japanese in the European theater of World War II is often overlooked. They are often remembered as either the enemy in the Pacific theater or as the victims of harsh U.S. wartime policies that resulted with the widespread internment of many Japanese-American citizens. However, the Japanese also played a crucial role in the European theater, but not as our enemy. These were the men of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a U.S. Army unit that was made up almost entirely of soldiers of Japanese descent. The men were known as “Nisei,” which is a Japanese term that refers to children of native Japanese parents that were born in another country. While most of the Japanese population in the U.S. was interned, those who were not Japanese

born and were within draft age were recruited to fight for the U.S. in the European theater. Now, it would seem as if these men had no reason to fight at all. They were treated as second-class citizens in the United States and their families were forced out of their homes and thrown into prison camps. But despite this harsh backdrop, the men of the 442nd went on to become one of the most effective and decorated units of the Second World War. One of their most famous accomplishments was their rescue of the “lost battalion,” which was another unit of U.S. soldiers that had been totally encircled by German forces.
The event is recalled in great detail by James M.

McCaffrey, an author for the University of Oklahoma Press, in his historical novel, “Going For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers in the War Against Nazi Germany.” The book describes the unit’s role in the European theater from their training, through all of their subsequent battles, and their eventual return home after the war. McCaffrey often goes into great detail describing the courage and valor that was shown by these Japanese soldiers in their engagements against the Germans. The story of the rescue of the “lost battalion” in no exception. McCaffrey’s recollection of that event truly captures the courageous spirit and fearlessness of the 442nd and demonstrated their crucial role in the rescue of the trapped U.S.

unit.
The morning of October 26, 1944, saw the men of the 1st battalion of the 141st regiment of the U.S. Army become totally encircled by German forces. They had managed to advance so far forward that the men of the 1st battalion lost their ability to communicate with friendly forces several miles to their rear. The German forces in the area quickly took advantage of this situation by moving in behind the 1st battalion effectively ensnaring them. The men had become trapped on a small mound of dirt that came to be known as hill 645 which was located to the southeast of the town of Biffontaine which was located in the northeastern region of France. Initially, the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the same regiment were tasked with the rescue of the now “lost” battalion. However, they quickly became bogged down and on October 27, General John Dahlquist ordered the 2nd, 3rd, and 100th battalions of the 442nd to come in and aid the beleaguered men of the 141st in their rescue mission. The men of the 442nd were supposed to be on a much needed rest period after weeks of heavy fighting and staggering losses but when their orders arrived, there was no hesitation to get moving. The fighting was no easier for the Nisei men, the Germans had heavily fortified the surrounding areas with machine gun nests, land mines, and reinforced their units with several tanks. However, the men of the 442nd were able to do what the men of the 141st could not.
Even in the face of a seemingly impregnable German defense, the men were able to push forward with nothing but sheer tenacity and bravery. McCaffery beautifully illustrates this by incorporating stories of individual soldiers into the larger narrative of the rescue. For example, he tells the story of Masuichi Yogi who was able to singlehandedly take out a tank and eliminate several German soldiers. Yogi was part of K company, 3rd battalion, and his unit had managed to get pinned down by a German tank as they were trying to progress towards the stranded men. The tank stopped K company dead in their tracks and pinned them down with heavy machine gun fire and shells from its main cannon. Instead of allowing himself to get bogged down, Yogi decided to slowly creep forward on his own and take the tank by surprise. Once he got close enough he launched a single well aimed rocket from his bazooka into the tank and destroyed it. But this did not go unnoticed, two German soldiers quickly attempted to return fire, but Yogi was ready for them. He quickly reloaded his bazooka, took out one of the Germans with a rocket, and then quickly picked up his rifle to dispatch the last enemy soldier (McCaffrey 263). Yogi’s actions allowed his company to move forward and progress with the rescue.
By the end of the 442nd’s first day of the rescue mission, the soldiers had managed to push about a quarter mile into German occupied territory.

But the fighting did not let up. The Germans continued to put up a stiff resistance and progress slowed to a crawl. By the 29th of October, the operation had come to a complete stop. The 3rd battalion of the 442nd found themselves completely immobilized by German artillery and machine gun fire. Most of the men refused to move from their cover. The stalemate eventually broke thanks to the initiative taken by the commander of the 3rd battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Pursall. He decided that the only way to get out of the mess that he and his unit were in was to push forward. He ran headlong into heavy German fire and began ordering his non-commissioned officers to get the men moving from cover. McCaffrey recalls the words of Technical Sergeant Chester Tanaka as he saw his commanding officer run right into the line of fire, “My God! If that dumb son-of-a-bitch is going to walk up into that fire, I guess we better, too!” (McCaffrey 266). Tanaka rallied the remaining 16 men from his company and began to advance. Surrounding companies saw the initiative taken by these men and began to push up as well. One by one all of the men of the 3rd battalion rose up and began to

advance.
Again, McCaffrey’s narrative captured the bravery displayed by these men in this harrowing situation by describing the heroism displayed by a Barney Hajiro. At first, Hajiro had proven himself to be a problematic solider. He was incredibly lazy and would often relieve himself of his duties by claiming he was sick. His commanding officer at the time got rid of him by transferring him to a different company which on this day found itself stuck trying to rescue the lost battalion. However, Hajiro’s behavior quickly changed as he grew close to his new comrades. In an unexpected display of valor, he leaped forward with the other men of the 3rd battalion firing at German soldiers as he advanced. When he came upon a German machine gun nest, the two soldiers operating it quickly surrendered, but Hajiro had to keep moving and quickly dispatched them before continuing his push (McCaffrey 267). However, Hajiro was not the only man to display such courage. McCaffrey recounts how many of the soldiers of the 3rd battalion ran forward without fear dodging German artillery and machine gun fire despite many of the men being injured. Eventually, the 442nd was able to break through the German lines and continue on in their rescue attempts. The fighting did not ease up and many more men were wounded and killed, but their efforts paid off on October 30th, 1944. After days of heavy fighting, the 442nd was able to reach the stranded men of the 141st.
McCaffrey’s research for this book is exhaustive and detailed. His bibliography at the very end of his book covers over 10 pages and contains over 50 sources. Many of the references that McCaffrey uses when telling the story of the rescue of the lost battalion came from other narratives written by historians. Often, the books chronicle more personal stories or follow a specific unit in the 442nd such as the novel “And Then There Were Eight,” which was published by a veteran’s club of the 442nd, or “AMERICANS: The Story of The 442nd Combat Team” which was written by Orville Shirey and published by the Infantry Journal Press shortly after the war. McCaffrey used these books to give the story of the 442nd deeper context and humanity. His book is not just another retelling of events that unfolded around the unit during World War II, instead he makes the story much more personal and brings the story of the entire unit to life. These sources provide McCaffrey the ability to convey to the reader just how tense and dangerous some of these battles were for the 442nd and the bravery and sacrifice that was shown by the Nisei soldiers while facing what often appeared to be insurmountable resistance. He also utilized several primary sources that often came straight from surviving soldiers of the 442nd. The story of Barney Hajiro came from an interview he gave for the Go For Broke Educational Foundation. McCaffrey uses these stories to give a face to the men of the unit. Throughout the book he mentions the stories of many different soldiers whether they were simply discussing the war or preforming acts of heroism. It gives the reader something to relate to, it shows that these soldiers were human just like everyone else.
While McCaffrey’s main goal is to tell the story of the 442nd, his language and the stories he describes depict the passion and spirit that these men fought with. They went above and beyond the call of duty in ways that many other soldiers did not. These Nisei men had every reason in the world to resist their training and disobey orders. They were expected to go and fight and die for a country that did not even respect them as citizens and locked up their families in prison camps. But instead of protesting through resistance, they protested by demonstrating that they believed in and were willing die for the ideals the U.S. was fighting for. They proved that freedom was not an idea that was limited by race or creed. One of the surviving members of the lost battalion recalls the sentiment he felt at seeing these Japanese soldiers finally reach his unit, “The Japanese Americans were the most pleasing sight in the world— this short, dark-skinned kid coming up, wearing an American helmet several sizes too big. Did that matter? No. Here was a brother of mine coming up to save my life.” (McCaffrey 269).