Kazuo Otani ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from California

On July 15, 1944 Staff Sergeant Otani was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of California. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.

Kazuo Otani

World War II

California

Medal of Honor

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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Kazuo Otani is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2015-09-14 07:29:42.

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Service Details

This Profile ID	323300
Name	Kazuo Otani
From	Visalia, San Joaquin County, California
Birth Date	June 2, 1918
Casualty Date	July 15, 1944
War	World War II
Service Branch	Army
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit/Group	442nd Regimental Combat Team
Casualty Type	Killed in action
Location	Pieve di Santa Luce, Italy
Burial	Veterans Liberty Cemetery, Fresno, California
Notable Awards	★ Medal of Honor ★ Distinguished Service Cross ★ Purple Heart

Additional Details

Ono was born in California. His parents were immigrants from Japan. He was a Nisei, which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American. Otani's family was interned at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona.

He volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.

On July 15, 1944, Otani was serving as a staff sergeant in Company G of the all volunteer Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. On that day, near Pieve di Santa Luce, Italy, his platoon became pinned down in a field by an enemy machine gun and snipers.

After killing one sniper, Otani shouted directions to his platoon and repeatedly exposed himself to the hostile fire, creating a distraction which allowed some of his men to reach cover. He then crawled to a wounded soldier who was lying in an exposed position and began rendering medical aid, but was killed by enemy fire in the process.

For his actions in July 1944, Otani was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Otani's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Commendations + Awards

Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.

★ Medal of Honor

★ World War II Victory Medal

★ Distinguished Service Cross

★ Combat Infantryman Badge

★ Purple Heart

★ American Campaign Medal

★ Army Presidential Unit Citation

★ Army Good Conduct Medal

★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign

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Honoring the men and women of California who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.

▶ California was home to over 30,000 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:

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• 2,648 Korean War
• 5,575 Vietnam War
• 628 Prisoners of war
• 7,015 Missing in action
• 330 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 155 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 40 Medal of Honor recipients

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