During this week in 1945, a U.S. Army soldier participates in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Joe Hayashi’s mom and stepdad had been sent to an American internment camp. Would you believe that he was still serving as a U.S. soldier?
Those were the days when the U.S. Government wasn’t sure if anyone of Japanese heritage could be trusted. Hayashi, a Japanese-American, was determined to prove his loyalty to the United States.
In the end, Hayashi would become one of the nearly two dozen Japanese-Americans to earn the Medal of Honor during World War II. Despite the bravery of these men, most of these medals were not awarded until decades after the war was over. A special June 2000 White House ceremony recognized these overlooked heroes.
Most of Hayashi’s life wasn’t really defined by this conflict. He was an athletic boy who loved the outdoors, as his family later recorded. He went fishing and hunting. He was a Boy Scout. He was a mechanic who built his own boat.
When he enlisted in the U.S. Army, the bombing of Pearl Harbor had not yet happened.
Afterwards, even Hayashi’s comrades in the Army sometimes seemed uncertain about his loyalty to America. He quickly proved them wrong.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-joe-hayashi-moh
On this day in 1780, a motley band of American militia defeat the much-loathed Banastre “Bloody Ban” Tarleton at the Battle of Blackstock’s.
Perhaps you remember the fictitious villain, Colonel William Tavington, from Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot”? Bloody Ban Tarleton was the real-life inspiration for Tavington.
The conflict at Blackstock’s began, at least in part, because British General Charles Cornwallis was becoming increasingly frustrated with American Brigadier General Thomas Sumter. The so-called “Carolina Gamecock” was a constant thorn in the British General’s side. Cornwallis wanted Sumter caught, and he decided to send the much-feared Tarleton to accomplish this task.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-battle-blackstocks
On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivers his famous Gettysburg address. Did you know that no one knows exactly where he gave the speech? And no one knows precisely what he said? Several different transcripts of the speech exist, each with slightly different phrasing.
His speech wasn’t even supposed to be the main feature that day. Instead, a two-hour oration by a former Secretary of State, Edward Everett, was supposed to be the highlight.
Lincoln’s two-minute speech would go down in history. Everett’s has been mostly forgotten.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-gettysburg-address
On this day in 1967, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Sammy L. Davis has been called the “real Forrest Gump” because footage from his Medal ceremony was used in the much-loved Tom Hanks movie.
“I went to war ‘cause I loved my grandpas. And I love my country,” Davis later said. “And when I got over there, the reason why we fought so hard, was because we discovered we loved each other, that we were all we had. And we became brothers.”
On November 17, 1967, then-Pfc. Davis was serving in an artillery unit at a remote fire support base near Cai Lay, Vietnam. Fighting had been ongoing all day. As night fell, the fighting ceased—at least for a little bit.
But everyone knew another attack was coming.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-sammy-davis-moh
