- Yukio Okutsu
Infobox Military Person
name=Yukio Okutsu
born= birth date|1921|11|3
died= death date and age|2003|8|24|1921|11|3
placeofbirth=Koloa, Hawaii
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=
rank=Technical Sergeant
commands=
unit=442nd Regimental Combat Team
battles=World War II
awards=Medal of Honor Purple Heart
relations=
laterwork=Yukio Okutsu (
November 3 1921 –August 24 2003 ) was aUnited States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—theMedal of Honor —for his actions inWorld War II .Biography
On
April 7 1945 , Okutsu was serving as atechnical sergeant in the442nd Regimental Combat Team . During a battle on that day, onMount Belvedere inItaly , he single-handedly destroyed three enemymachine gun emplacements. He was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross, for his actions.A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Okutsu's award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the
White House onJune 21 2000 , he was presented with his Medal of Honor by PresidentBill Clinton . Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, all but six of them posthumously.Okutsu died at age 81, three years after receiving the Medal of Honor, and was buried in East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 2,
Hilo, Hawaii .Medal of Honor citation
His official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Technical Sergeant Yukio Okutsu distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 7 April 1945, on Mount Belvedere, Italy. While his platoon was halted by the crossfire of three machine guns, Technical Sergeant Okutsu boldly crawled to within 30 yards of the nearest enemy emplacement through heavy fire. He destroyed the position with two accurately placed hand grenades, killing three machine gunners. Crawling and dashing from cover to cover, he threw another grenade, silencing a second machine gun, wounding two enemy soldiers, and forcing two others to surrender. Seeing a third machine gun, which obstructed his platoon's advance, he moved forward through heavy small arms fire and was stunned momentarily by rifle fire, which glanced off his helmet. Recovering, he bravely charged several enemy riflemen with his
submachine gun , forcing them to withdraw from their positions. Then, rushing the machine gun nest, he captured the weapon and its entire crew of four. By these single-handed actions he enabled his platoon to resume its assault on a vital objective. The courageous performance of Technical Sergeant Okutsu against formidable odds was an inspiration to all. Technical Sergeant Okutsu's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.ee also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War IIReferences
*findagrave|7834047 Retrieved on
2007-11-19 *cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Medal of Honor Recipients - World War II (M-S)
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date =July 16 2007
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html
accessdate = 2007-11-19*cite web
last = Williams
first = Rudi
publisher = American Forces Press Service
title = 21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor
date =May 19 2000
url = http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=45192
accessdate = 2007-11-19Persondata
NAME= Okutsu, Yukio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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