A Member of the Purple Heart Battalion
By Brandon Thierry
Jimmie Koji Motoyama
October 3, 1919-January 19, 2009
Jimmie Motoyama was born to his father Nihei and his mother Sode Motoyama on October 3, 1919 in Eaton, Colorado.[1] In 1930, at the age of 10, Jimmie had three sisters –Rosie, Mary, and Jessie—and four brothers—Harry, George, Howard, and Tommy. He was living on a farm with his family in Grant, Colorado. The farm that they lived on was owned by his father who worked the land as a truck gardener.[2] A truck gardener was someone who primarily raised different kinds of vegetables for market. His father worked in this position during the Great Depression. Because Grant was spared from the Dust Bowl, food production was not affected by it. This meant there would be a relatively steady supply of food from his farm to help fill the demand for food.
In 1932, tragedy would strike Jimmie’s family when his father passed away. It is unknown how or why, but this had a huge impact on Jimmie’s family. Around 1935, Jimmie’s whole family moved. They relocated to Littleton Colorado, a much different place in 1935 than in 2021. In 1935, it was a largely agriculturally based. Jimmie’s mom, having lost her husband, had to take up farming the land, where she worked 52 weeks a year.[3] This would have been difficult and back breaking work, just as any other manual labor. She would have done this to provide for her children, all 8 of them. In this instance she would take up the role of being the head of household and fully supporting her family.
As Jimmie and his brother got older, they began helping their mother on their farm in an official capacity. They worked the same amount of time as their mother, 52 weeks, but were paid nothing.[4] This was not due to an exploitative model; rather, the money they earned went back to the whole family. Pooling money would have helped pay for food, school expenses for his younger siblings, and clothes for everyone. Perhaps motivated and feeling some level of responsibility after his father’s death, Jimmie wanted to help support his family.
Their situation was unique, compared to other Japanese Americans in western states, because Colorado had not adopted Alien Land Laws. These laws were passed in states that saw a large influx of Japanese immigrants. These laws targeted Japanese immigrants, making them ineligible to own land, and adding prohibitions against immigrants ineligible for citizenship from possessing long-term leases.[5] Colorado, lacking such a law, meant that Japanese immigrants could buy homes and land for permanent residence. This reduced a source of contention that other Japanese immigrants had to grapple with, being citizens but having children who were American citizens. It is hard to say if Jimmie experienced racism and discrimination in the years leading up to World War Two.
Jimmie decided to register for enlistment, at the age of 21, on October 16, 1940.[6] This occurred before Pearl Harbor. It is unknown why Jimmie decided to join the military. Jimmie might have wanted a way out of his desperate situation of working long days on the farm in abstract poverty. Jimmie might have also craved upward mobility, something that everyday American society denied him. Whatever his reasons were, he joined willingly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. On November 25, 1941, Jimmie was enlisted into the Air Corps;[7] however, he would not remain in this position for long. Twelve days after his enlistment, Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor. This fueled more discrimination and questioning of Japanese Americans’ loyalty. Jimmie’s commander, like others who oversaw Japanese American soldiers, had three choices: they could dishonorably discharge them, honorably discharge them, or keep them in the military organization but in non-sensitive roles. The last option often meant toilet cleaning and other menial tasks.[8] Jimmie’s commander decided to keep him in the Army, yet he was reassigned based solely on his race and ancestry. When the U.S would lift its embargo on the recruitment of Japanese Americans, Jimmie would be reassigned once again.
442nd Regimental Combat Team. Camp Shelby, Mississippi. June 1943. Courtesy of the United States War Department
Jimmie was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 3rd Battalion, L Company and was promoted to a non-commissioned officer position of Staff Sergeant. The 442nd was a segregated unit that had only White commissioned officers. Japanese Americans were non-commissioned officers,[9] which was another form of discrimination Jimmie faced. Jimmie, along with all others in the 442nd, were sent to Camp Shelby in the “Deep South.” In this environment, the 442nd would encounter a different form of discrimination which they observed between Whites and Blacks.
After a year of training, the 442nd set sail to Naples and arrived in June of 1944. They arrived at a war-ravaged city, with smoldering buildings and rubble. On June 11th they once again embarked and their destination was Civitavecchia, a coastal town 40 miles northwest of Rome.[10]
It is hard to pinpoint where and for how long Jimmie served. He most likely would have participated in the Rome-Arno Campaign, where he would have been in a few major assaults, primarily the push to take Hill 140. Hill 140 was a heavily entrenched enemy position that took several days to clear. After its capture, enemy resistance began to falter.
The 3rd Battalion made plans to capture the town of Sassetta. During this battle, the third battalion made a flanking maneuver to capture the high ground overlooking the town, along with disabling two German tanks. The 3rd battalion was then sent to capture Castagnetto. As the day turned to night, confusion within the ranks become rampant. This resulted in elements of the 3rd to break off and head towards an objective meant for the 100th battalion. Confusion was not limited to the U.S battalion; the enemy was also suppressed by this sudden arrival of U.S soldiers. The Germans must have assumed that they had been outflanked and quickly retreated, leaving vital equipment behind. After this confusing encounter, the 2nd Battalion pushed on ahead while the 3rd reorganized and recover their mission soldiers.[11] It is hard to determine if Jimmie were among the lost groups; however, as an officer, he would have been responsible for reorganizing in whatever form that may have looked like for him.
On July 4th, Jimmie and his company would come under fierce enemy fire, both from small arms and artillery. The enemy assault was devastating to L company. An entire machine-gun squad in L company was completely wiped out. Jimmie, having survived this intense fighting and seen such magnitudes of death, no doubt had this experience stay with him. [12] Due to the high rate of casualties, it is hard to tell if Jimmie made it unscathed, and went on to France, or was discharged due to his injuries. Regardless of when he exited combat, Jimmie would have seen and suffered through many grueling encounters throughout his time in World War Two.
Jimmie received numerous awards for his service. The first one listed is his Silver Star. The silver star is awarded to those who show gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. His next award is the Purple Heart—this medal is presented to service members who have been wounded or killed because of enemy action while serving. Next, he received the Combat Infantry badge. This award is given to those who fought in active ground combat. Finally, Jimmie twice received the Distinguished Unit Badge or Citation; it is now called the Presidential Unit Citation. This award is conferred upon units of the U.S Armed Forces and allied nations for extraordinary heroism against an enemy.[13] This award was given to him by extension of the 3rd battalion. The second time was given to his company and only a couple other companies specifically.[14]
Jimmie passed away at the age of 89 on January 19th, 2009. His family remembers him in the following ways:
“I feel very lucky to have had Uncle Jim in my life. He led a very long life and was fortunate to have such a wonderful wife! We love you dearly and will miss him! I'm glad that we had a good Christmas together this past year! I know he is in good hands now~ Love to you always!
-Michelle Hallett
Uncle Jim was always there when we needed him. He drove us all to Montana when our Grandpa passed away, was there to help when my Mom had a stroke---so many other memories. I'll remember him as the great debater as he loved to debate the issues!!! I'll miss him
-Mary Anderson.”[15]
Footnotes ↓
[1] WWII Draft Registration Cards for Colorado, 1940-47, Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System 147, Box 172, National Archives in St. Louis, St. Louis Missouri.
[2] Jimmie K. Motoyama, Year: 1930, Census Place: Grant, Jefferson, Colorado; Page: 3A, Enumeration District: 0001, FHL microfilm: 2339978.
[3] Sode Motoyama, Year: 1940, Census Place: Grant, Jefferson, Colorado, Roll: m-t0627-00465, Page: 6A, Enumeration District: 30-1.
[4]Jimmie Motoyama, Year: 1940, Census Place: Grant, Jefferson, Colorado, Roll: m-t0627-00465, Page: 6A, Enumeration District: 30-1.
[5] Chertsin M Lyon, “Alien Land Laws,” Densho Encyclopedia, October 8, 2020, https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Alien_land_laws/.
[6] WWII Draft Registration Cards for Colorado, 1940-47, Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System 147, Box 172, The National Archives in St. Louis, St. Louis Missouri.
[7] U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, NAID: 1263923, Record Group: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007, 64; Box (unknown, record incomplete) National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland, USA.
[8] Brian Niiya, “Japanese Americans in Military during World War II,” Densho Encyclopedia, January 25, 2021, https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Japanese_Americans_in_military_during_World_War_II/#cite_ref-ftnt_ref5_5-0.
[9] “442nd Regimental Combat Team,” accessed April 30, 2021, https://encyclopedia.densho.org/442nd_Regimental_Combat_Team/.
[10] Go For Broke National Education Center - Preserving the Legacy of the Japanese American Veterans of World War II,” accessed April 30, 2021, https://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/combat_history/world_war_2/european_theater/rome-arno_belvedere.php.
[11] Orville Shirey, Americans: The story of The 442d Combat Team (Infantry Journal Press, 1946), 35.
[12] Ibid., 36.
[13] Ibid., 142.
[14] Go For Broke National Education Center - Preserving the Legacy of the Japanese American Veterans of World War II,” accessed May 21, 2021, https://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/hall_of_honor/awards_descriptions.php.
[15] Legacy.com and Legacy, “Jimmie Motoyama Obituary (2009) - Wheat Ridge, CO - Denver Post,” January 21, 2009), https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/denverpost/obituary.aspx?n=jimmie-koji-motoyama&pid=123069166&fhid=4378.
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