Cover The Grenade With His Body During PD II, The Name Of This US-Japan Army Made Memorial Square In Los Angeles

Inauguration of Sadao S. Munemori Memorial Square in Los Angeles. (Source: Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles)

JAKARTA - A city on the outskirts of Los Angeles, United States dedicates an intersection as a memory square for the first American-Japanese descent soldiers to receive a US military medal for their services during World War (PD) II.

The soldier's name is Sadao S. Munemori. While the official name of the award for him is Sadao S. Munemori Memorial Square which was inaugurated in Glendale last month.

The area is also home to the Glendale Veteran Monument, which in its placard lists the names of all soldiers from the city who died in the war, including Munemori.

"The dedication made his family feel honored, grateful, full of hope and proud," said Munemori's nephew, James Nakakihara (64), adding he hoped Munemori's memories would inspire "love and good deeds," as reported by Kyodo News January 3.

Meanwhile, Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles Kenko Sone said on the sidelines of the inauguration, he hoped that he would inspire those who visited Munemori's heroism and self-sacred.

"I look forward to seeing millions of people, including Japanese people, cross this intersection in the years to come, remembering and appreciating Sadao S. Munemori's brilliant example as well as the Japan-American community's extraordinary resilience and contribution," explained Consul General Sone, quoted from the consulate's official website.

Munemori was born and raised in Glendale, before joining the Army at the age of 19. He served in the 100th Infantry Battalion during the war, most of which consisted of Japanese-American soldiers.

While fighting in Italy in April 1945, Munemori was able to cripple the position of enemy machine guns with grenades, before jumping and covering the enemy's thrown active grenades. He died at the age of 22, sacrificing himself to save the lives of his fellow soldiers.

It is known that Munemori was awarded the Medal of Honor award posthumously in 1946. He was the only Japanese-American war medalist until June 2000, when President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to about 20 additional Japanese-American soldiers who had fought in World War II. war.