August 24th, 1968. Southwest Vietnam, near the Cambodian border:
Men of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry
—dubbed the "Wolfhound Battalion"—
were on the lookout for enemy forces.
Late in the day, they approached a small fire support base and were surprised
to find it reinforced with armored personnel carriers and a tank.
This meant one thing: enemy troops were in the area,
and an attack was imminent.
The men of B Company were ordered to quickly take positions
in bunkers surrounding the base—and wait.
Just after 1 a.m., the sky erupted with an intense mortar barrage,
followed by rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire.
North Vietnamese Army forces concentrated their attack on the section of the base perimeter,
disabling the tank and knocking out a bunker.
The section's platoon leader had disappeared,
and the surviving defenders were perilously low on ammunition.
The position was in danger of being overrun.
The situation desperate, the men found relief from a young second lieutenant
from a nearby sector: Vincent Okamoto.
Recognizing the danger, Lieutenant Okamoto rounded up five volunteers
and crawled through the fire toward the attack.
He immediately took charge, organizing the defense and
continually exposing himself to enemy fire not more than 30 feet away.
Shortly after Okamoto arrived, the machine gunner manning a nearby armored personnel carrier
was killed, leaving the men without supporting fire.
Though his men pleaded with him not to go—that it meant certain death—
Lieutenant Okamoto ran to the vehicle and manned its machine gun,
raking the enemy position with return fire.
When his gun was knocked out, he ran to another vehicle, and then to a third,
firing until he ran out of ammunition.
During his final stand, he took a shot to the chest—
the bullet only stopped by the M16 ammunition clips strapped across his chest.
Though wounded, he would not be slowed,
returning to the front and using hand grades and his rifle
to hold the enemy back, as his men watched in awe.
Lieutenant Okamoto's actions brought valuable time
for air support and reinforcements to arrive.
The men serving along him were convinced they would have been overrun if not for his valor.
One man later wrote that, while he had seen many acts of heroism during his year in Vietnam,
none could match the valor of Vincent Okamoto.
Vincent Okamoto's heroic story began 25 years earlier in the unlikeliest of circumstances:
he was born November 22nd, 1943, in the Poston Arizona War Relocation Center,
an internment camp where American citizens of Japanese descent were being held during World War II.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans
—including Okamoto's family—were forcibly placed in camps to be interned for most of the war.
Though viewed as the enemy by many of their countrymen,
many interned Japanese Americans relished the opportunity to prove their loyalty by serving during World War II.
Vincent's two oldest brothers would join the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team,
the all-Japanese American unit that would go on to become the most decorated unit in Army history.
Another brother would volunteer for the Marines and serve in Korea.
In the end, the Okamoto family would more than prove their loyalty—and their bravery—
with all seven brothers serving in the US armed forces.
Vincent Okamoto would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor on August 24th, 1968.
Those who witnessed his actions believes he deserves nothing short of the Medal of Honor.
He would also be awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts,
making him the most highly decorated Japanese American to survive the war in Vietnam.
Born into one of America's darkest moments,
Vincent Okamoto could be justified in lamenting his country's failings.
Instead, he embraced its ideals,
going on to become one of its greatest battlefield heroes, and eventually,
a Superior Court Judge for Los Angeles County.
All throughout, he inspired his countrymen with his courage, humility, and heart,
a living example of American honor, and the kind of American we all hope to be.