Wataru Nakamura

Wataru Nakamura (, 20 November 1921 – 18 May 1951) was a United States Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 3 January 2025 for his actions during the Battle of the Soyang River in the Korean War.

Early life Wataru Nakamura was born on 20 November 1921, in Los Angeles, California, the second of seven children. After graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School, he went to San Francisco to work at a relative’s business to help support his family. When Executive Order 9066 was signed in 1942, which required Japanese Americans to live in internment camps, he rejoined his family, who were assigned to a relocation center in Rohwer, Arkansas.

Military career President Joe Biden with Gary Takashima, who received the Medal of Honor for former U.S. Army Pfc. Wataru Nakamura He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944. He was sent to Europe to serve with Company K, 442nd Infantry Regiment. After being discharged, he lived in Chicago, Illinois, until he was called back to active duty in 1950.

In May 1951, he was serving with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea. At approximately 04:30 on 18 May 1951, Nakamura volunteered to check and repair a damaged communications line. Unaware that the enemy had infiltrated and captured heavily fortified friendly positions, he moved forward until he came under a withering hail of hostile fire. Disregarding his safety, he made a one-man assault, destroying a machine-gun and its crew with his carbine and bayonet and destroying two other enemy positions with grenades. When his ammunition was expended, he was forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming odds. After falling back, he met a carrying party, briefed the officer in charge, replenished his ammunition and returned to engage the hostile force. Supported by rifle fire, he wiped out an enemy position and attacked the remaining bunker, killing one and wounding another enemy soldier before he was mortally wounded.

He was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor on 3 January 2025.

Medal of Honor citation

Honors and awards