Young-Oak Kim

Kim was born in Los Angeles in 1919.

His parents were Soon Kwon Kim and Nora Koh.

He had three brothers, two sisters, and one adopted brother, Andy Kil.

One of his sisters was two-time Tony Award-winning costume designer Willa Kim.

His father was a member of Daehanin-dongjihwe (대한인 동지회, literally: "The Great Korean People's Association"), the group Syngman Rhee established in Hawaii to help liberate Korea from Japan.

This background helped Kim build a strong cultural identity.

He grew up in Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California, where his parents operated a grocery store at the intersection of Temple Street and Figueroa Street.

Throughout Kim’s childhood, his family struggled financially due to his father's addiction to gambling.

Kim graduated from Belmont High School and proceeded to Los Angeles City College.

He dropped out after a year to support his family.

He tried various jobs, but racial discrimination prevented him from staying long at any job.

The U.S. Army refused his enlistment for the same reason.

But after the U.S. Congress enacted a law subjecting Asian Americans to conscription, Kim was drafted into the Army.

He entered service on January 31, 1941, three months before his father died.

After spending half a year in the Army as an engineer, Kim was selected for the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Upon graduating in January 1943, he was assigned to the U.S. 100th Infantry Battalion, a unit of Japanese Americans from Hawaii.

The battalion commander offered him a transfer, fearing ethnic conflict between Young Oak and the Japanese-American troops.

(At the time, Korea was occupied by the Japanese empire.) Regardless, he insisted on staying, stating that "there [are] no Japanese nor Korean here. We're all Americans and we're fighting for the same cause."

On May 16, 1944, with Private First Class Irving Akahoshi, he crawled into German territory near Cisterna, Italy.

They captured two German soldiers in the daytime while the enemy rested for the evening watch.

The information they gathered from the prisoners helped determine that there was not a tank unit in the breakthrough path the Allies were considering.

The Allies broke the Gustav Line, and liberated Rome.

For his actions, Lieutenant Kim was awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross and the Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valor in 1944 and the Italian War Cross for Military Valor in 1945.

Young-Oak Kim (, 1919 – December 29, 2005) was a United States Army officer during World War II and the Korean War and a civic leader and humanitarian.

He was a member of the U.S. 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and a combat leader in Italy and France during World War II.

He was awarded 19 medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, a Légion d'honneur, a Croix de Guerre, and (posthumously) the Korean Taeguk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit.

After his military career, Kim dedicated his life to public service and was an active founder and leader of several non-profit organizations for underserved communities throughout Southern California.

He died of cancer at the age of 86.

The 100th Battalion was sent to North Africa to assist in the war in Europe, but initially the U.S. Army had no plan for its deployment due to racial discrimination at the time.

By its own request, the battalion was sent to the front and joined the war in Italy.

There, Kim's map-reading skills and determination led to success in many battles and some "impossible missions".

Second Lieutenant Young Oak Kim's first deployment was in Salerno, Italy, as part of the Allied offensive against the German forces in Italy.

In this first offensive, he was wounded near Santa Maria Olivetto and was subsequently awarded his first Silver Star and Purple Heart.

Young Oak Kim was then promoted to first lieutenant and participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino as part of the U.S. attempt to liberate Rome from German control.

In the planning for Operation Diadem, the Allies needed to determine the locations of German tank units.

Lieutenant Kim, as an officer in the joint U.S. 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, volunteered to capture German soldiers to gain military intelligence.

He also led elements of the 100th Battalion in battles at Belvedere and Pisa, which helped break the Gothic Line.

The Allies were able to occupy Pisa without casualties.

In France, Kim was the battalion's operations officer.

In May 2016, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus held a press conference, organized by the Council of Korean Americans, to call on President Barack Obama to posthumously award Kim the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.