Kazuo Otani facts for kids
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Otani.
Kazuo Otani (June 2, 1918 – July 15, 1944) was a United States Army was a United States Army soldier. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.
Early life
Otani was born in California. His parents were immigrants from Japan. He was a Nisei, which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.
Otani's family was interned at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona
Soldier
Otani joined the US Army in 1943.
He 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.
For his actions in July 1944, Otani was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
Otani, aged 26 at his death, was buried in Veterans Liberty Cemetery, Fresno, California.
In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Otani's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his family was presented with his medal by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, but only seven of them were still alive.
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