“He who wears the Purple Heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen.”
—George Washington
The 100th/442nd RCT from World War II is known as the Purple Heart Battalion, for the stunning amount of Purple Heart medals, among other honors, issued to soldiers in the unit. According to the Go For Broke Foundation, “Although the US government concedes that there has not been an official count of the medals awarded to the unit and its individuals, it is widely accepted that they received more than 18,000 individual decorations.”
(Medals belonging to members of the 100th/442nd on display at the Go For Broke Museum in Los Angeles, CA.)