Hayashi succumbs; 105 remain

Shizuya Hayashi, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2000 for valiant WWII service in company A, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, will be laid to rest next Sunday.

Hayashi is show right at the 2007 Congressional Medal of Honor Society annual reunion in Green Bay.

Hayashi, 90, could easily recall that Italian battlefield on Nov. 29, 1943. "There were mines all around. I remember a sniper bullet passing by my neck. ... A lot of boys got hit in that minefield."

Hayashi, then 26, charged a German machine-gun nest, killing nearly 20 enemy soldiers and taking four prisoner.

The Pearl City Hawaii veteran died after a battle with cancer.

Hayashi, one of 22 Asian Americans whose Distinguished Service Cross medals were upgraded to the Medal of Honor eight years ago; the seven surviving members of the group included Sen. Daniel Inouye, and were members of the "The Purple Heart Battalion"--the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

Hayashi was drafted in March 1941 and nicknamed "Cesar" because his sergeant could not pronounce his first name.

"I guess Cesar is closest they could get to Shizuya," Hayashi told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin before the ceremony. "But my friends still call me Cesar today." Additional information here.