On the first day of this action, Maj. Lovell was wounded again. Major Clough, Having recovered from his wounds, resumed command of the battalion. Shortly thereafter, Maj Clough was wounded again. 1st Lt. Young Oak Kim now commanded the 100th Infantry Battalion. By the end of the war the 100th wound have 13 changes of battalion commanders. In the battalion, nearly everyone earned a Purple Heart. The lucky ones got two or three and lived to tell about it. |
Attack Cassino!
January 24th, 1944, the 100th was put back on the line and put in the offensive to take Cassino. Facing them was the 1st German Parachute Division(a crack division entrenched in the Gustav Line). Below the German position, the German army had demolished every building and cleared away the trees so that any movement can be clearly spotted. On top of that the Rapido River had flooded and for 200 yards it was nothing bud mud and mines. Companies A and C of the 100th moved to the river wall. During the night Maj. Dewey and Maj. James Johnson and Capt. Mitsuyoshi Fukuda made a further reconnaissance of the area of attack for Companies A and C. During the recon they were caught in artillery and machine-gun fire. They were forced to run into a minefield and one of the mines blew up beneath them. Maj. Johnson died and Maj. Dewey was wounded. In broad daylight B Company tried to follow A and C to the river wall but were caught in artillery and machine-gun fire. Out of 187 men 14 made it to the wall. Depleted of their top command, the battalion was ordered to San Michele for reorganization. On February 8th, after the battalion was refitted the 100th attacked in the dead of winter. They secured Hill 165 with light resistance. However, the right and left flanks were unable to keep pace with the 100th battalion. The 100th dug in and waited for four days but resistance on the flanks were fierce and made their position perilous. The 100th were ordered to fall back behind the hills adjacent to Cassino to join the regimental reserves. |
| On September 22, 1943, the 100th Battalion had 1,300 men.
After five months of fighting it could only muster 521. Because
of the sacrifices of the "Original" 100th Battalion the battalion became
known as "The Purple Heart Battalion" and "the little iron men."
Honor by Fire, by Lyn Crost, Presidio Press, p.115 |
On February 18th, the 34th Division launched its final attack on Cassino.
The 100th Battalion was under-strength, one platoon moved into line with 40
men....they came back with 5. The 100th regained the ground halfway up to
the stone Abbey, but the 100th was ordered back when their flank support
collapsed. The 100th were ordered back to Alife for replacements and reissue
of equipment.
The 34th Division with the 100th almost took Casino in one day,
but before they could they ran out of men and material. Army records later
noted that five fresh divisions finally were required to take Cassino along
with aerial bombardments. The 34th almost took it alone. 
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| The Beginning Where did they all come from? |
Page 2 The creation of the unit and their first days in combat. |
Page 3 The battle for Monte Cassino... and aftermath. |
Page 4 The 100th becomes the first battalion of the newly formed 442nd RCT |
Page 5 |