Monument Pays Tribute to AJA Patriots - Honolulu, HI
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 21° 16.962 W 157° 50.043
4Q E 620952 N 2353882
Kuroda Field at Ft. DeRussy in Honolulu, Hawaii, is dedicated in honor of Staff Sargeant Robert T. Kuroda, a Hawaii native who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism during a battle near Bruyères, France, where he lost his life.
Waymark Code: WMDT2F
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2012
Views: 7
Kuroda Field is a large open expanse of parkland near the U.S. Army Museum on the shores of Wakiki Beach and Fort DeRussy. A small bronze plaque at the corner bears the dedication to this Medal of Honor recipient. The field was dedicated on Nov. 9, 2000, and very moving account of this event was written for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin by Sgt. Kuroda's brother, Senator John Koroda, one for four brothers who served in the U.S. military. "Monument Pays Tribute to AJA Patriots."
KURODA FIELD
Named in honor of
Staff Sergeant Robert T. Kuroda
442nd Regimental Combat Team
On 20 October 1944, during the battle of Bruyeres France,
Sergeant Kuroda led his squad in an attack against a strongly
defended enemy position. He deployed his squad to cover his advance
and personally destroyed two enemy gun positions before being struck
fatally by an enemy bullet. Sergeant Kuroda was posthumously
awarded the Medal of honor.
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Ft. DeRussy was the home of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry
Regiment. Kuroda Field honors the memory of those brave soldiers.
Sgt. Kuroda was one of 22 Asian-Americans who were bestowed the Medal of Honor in a ceremony on July 10, 2000. As reported by Rudi Williams of the
American Forces Press Service, Sgt. Kuroda's citation reads:
"Staff Sgt. Robert T. Kuroda,442nd Regimental Combat Team, earned his Medal of Honor on Oct. 20, 1944, near Bruyeres, France. While leading his men in an effort to eliminate snipers and machine gun nests, Kuroda encountered heavy enemy machine gun fire from a heavily wooded slope. Unable to pinpoint the nest, he maneuvered under fire toward the crest of the ridge and located it. He then advanced to within 10 yards of the nest and killed three enemy gunners with grenades. He fired all his rifle ammunition, killing or wounding at least another three of them.
As Kuroda expended the last of his ammo, he saw an American officer felled by machine gun fire from an adjacent hill. He rushed to the officer's aid, but found the man was already dead. Picking up a submachine gun, he advanced through continuous fire to the second machine gun emplacement and destroyed it. As he turned to fire on other enemy soldiers, he was killed by a sniper."