Robert Kuroda was born on November 8, 1922 in Hawaii, the son of immigrants from Japan. He was a second generation Japanese American, known as Nisei. Kuroda enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1943, at age 20.
Kuroda volunteered to join the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team made up mostly of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland
On Oct. 20, 1944, Staff Sgt. Kuroda single-handedly attacked two enemy machine gun emplacements near Bruyeres, France. During the attack, a sniper killed him.
For these actions, he posthumously received a Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest decoration.
Following a review in the late 1990s of Distinguished Service Cross awards to Japanese Americans, the Army recommended an upgrade to a Medal of Honor. President Bill Clinton presented the award June 21, 2000. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, all but seven of them posthumously.
On Aug. 24, 2011, the Navy dedicated the SSGT Robert T. Kuroda, LSV-7 (Logistic Support Vessel-7) in his honor.
Kuroda is interred at the National Memorial of the Pacific in Honolulu, Section D, Grave 92.
We honor his service.
As it did last year, this year National Cemetery Administration is collaborating with Carry The Load for Memorial Day to honor fallen Veterans. Both NCA and Carry The Load are honoring select “Veterans of the Day” with remembrances on social media during May.
Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Contributors
Writer:
Graphic artist: Steve Ellmore
Topics in this story
More Stories
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army […]
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran Kathryn Hire, who served as a captain in the Navy Reserve.
Navy Veteran Verna Fender is this week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight.
We honor the service of Robert Kuroda.