With consideration for the upcoming campaign merge, and the consequently looser geographic restrictions, I think it’s high time to start considering distinguished units who served in less celebrated, but nevertheless vital fronts.
The 442nd infantry regiment is the most decorated US Army unit of its size, with 21 medals of honor, 33 distinguished service crosses (19 of the original 52 were upgraded to medals of honor), 1 distinguished service medal, 560 silver stars, 22 legion of merit medals, 15 soldier’s medals, 4000 bronze stars, and over 4000 purple hearts. Through heavy fighting and great sacrifice from Italy to France, managed to exceed expectations and prejudices about Japanese-American loyalties and capabilities in the US during WW2.
Notable actions undertaken by the 442nd included the combat around Hill 140, Castellina, Bruyères, and Biffontaine. Their most famed action, however, was when they were sent to rescue the Texas national guard, nicknamed “the lost battalion”. It is in this battle, east of Biffontaine, where the 442nd would manage to break through the German position and rescue the lost battalion, and somewhat notably, perform the only known case of a banzai charge against the Wehrmacht that has ever been recorded.
Given the large number of highly decorated members of the 442nd, selecting distinguished individuals who could be present as “special soldiers” with a medal in the squad can be difficult, and so here are a few notable candidates for selection.
Daniel K. Inouye - Bronze Star, Distinguished Service Cross (upgraded to Medal of Honor), and 3 Purple Hearts for his actions at Colle Musatello, where he engaged a German bunker despite sustaining injuries, including taking a rifle grenade to the arm, managing to take down the machine gun nest before collapsing.
Young-Oak Kim - Distinguished Service Cross, Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valor, Italian War Cross for Military Valor, for actions and command through Salerno and the liberation of Rome, 2 Purple Hearts, and the French Croix De Guerre, for the liberation of Bruyères and Biffontaine, as well as a plaque in his honor on the Biffontaine church wall. He would also serve in the Korean War as he was Korean-American, where he would further distinguish himself and earn further accolades.
To characterize this unit by its flavor, I believe that it is best to approach with a novel form of squad structure, and I believe the most suitable “premium” weapon, in line with the fact they managed to successfully break through an enemy position using a banzai charge, would be to give all squad members the M1902 Army Officer’s Saber.
Squad composition:
3 assaulters, 2 engineers
Perk composition:
+8 mobility
+6 vitality
-2 weapon handling
Base Perk - +100% healing from medpacks
+15% sprint speed
+35% vitality
+12% firearms reload speed
+50% weapon switch speed
