William Kenzo Nakamura

William Kenzo Nakamura
Private First Class William Nakamura
Born	(1922-01-21)January 21, 1922
Died	July 4, 1944(1944-07-04) (aged 22) near Castellina Marittima, Italy
Place of burial	Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park, Seattle, Washington
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1944
Rank	Private First Class
Unit	442nd Regimental Combat Team
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Medal of Honor

William Kenzo Nakamura (January 21, 1922 – July 4, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Nakamura was born in Seattle to Japanese immigrant parents. He is a Nisei, which means that he is a second generation Japanese-American.

His family was interned in Minidoka in Idaho during World War II.

Nakamura joined the US Army in July 1943.

Nakamura 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 4, 1944, Nakamura was serving as a private first class in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. On that day, near Castellina Marittima, Italy, he single-handedly destroyed an enemy machine gun emplacement and later volunteered to cover his unit's withdrawal. He was then killed while attacking another machine gun nest which was firing on his platoon.

For his actions in July 1944, he was posthumously awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Nakamura's award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his surviving family was presented with his Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, all but seven of them posthumously.