The conflict of World War II resulted in the death of many heroic men. Their contribution to Allies' s battles preserved our freedom and ended the fascist regimes of Germany and Japan.This website

COMBAT INFANTRY BADGE

is dedicated to one of those men, my Uncle Ed who served in the United States Army as an Officer in the European Theatre from 1944 to 1945.

PURPLE HEART MEDAL

          Uncle Ed was an Captain in the historically famous 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment. This Infantry unit was composed of hundreds of volunteer Japanese American soldiers. These brave men had been recruited from the Internment Camps on America's West coast. For the U.S. Army it was a bold experiment. And for the soldiers that served in the 442nd it was a chance to prove that though they were of Japanese ancestry , their allegiance was to American and to democracy .
          Outright hatred for Japan and Japanese culture was common throughout American Society as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor . In spite of this the U.S. Military had a mandate from President Roosevelt and the Congress: all the peoples of the nation must unite in the struggle for freedom. This included the Japanese that had lived on Hawaii and the West Coast , and these were the men that became the Nisei volunteers of the 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment .
          The leaders of the U.S. Army no doubt understood the difficult job that was to requested of the Japanese-American Soldiers.

SILVER STAR

The responsibility to make sure that this experiment worked, was on Uncle Ed's shoulders and the other Caucasian officers that were selected to train and lead the Nisei recruits.
              The following web pages contain some of the personal observations of Uncle Ed, and some historical information that document his career in the Military. I have included some information I have found on the web that concerns the history of the 442nd .

PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION

 
          Though Captain Nilges' life was cut short on the battlefield on a spring day in 1945, his troops lived on to celebrate VE day. They are the testimony to the effectiveness of his leadership, and they were his buddies and comrades in arms. Long live the memory of these brave men.
 

 
Before the War
 
Training
 
Camp Shelby MS. and the 442nd
 
Photo Gallery
 
European Theatre of Operations Combat Timeline
 
Final Battle
 
Remembrance