Joe Hayashi

For his actions during the battle, he was 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 Hayashi'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.

On April 20, 1945, near Tendola, Italy, Hayashi exposed himself to hostile fire in order to direct mortar fire onto enemy positions. Two days later, he single-handedly silenced three hostile machine guns but was killed while pursuing enemy soldiers.

Hayashi 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.

Working as a mechanic before the war, Hayashi enlisted in the Army from Los Angeles in May 1941.

Joe J. Hayashi (August 14, 1920 – April 22, 1945) was a United States Army soldier. He is best known as a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.