June 18, 2010

This weekend C-SPAN 3 will broadcast Densho’s interview with Medal of Honor veteran George “Joe” Sakato. The C-SPAN American History channel has broadcast a half dozen full-length video oral histories from our collection and will air additional Densho oral histories this year.

Joe Sakato served with the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat team during World War II. On a French battlefield, his courageous charge up a hill into enemy fire earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In this oral history recorded for Densho, Sakato recalls his war experiences – including his vivid description of his actions on October 29, 1944, which led to recognition of his “extraordinary heroism” in the Battle of the Lost Battalion.

The Sakata interview will be broadcast in two parts: Part 1 on Saturday at 2:50pm (Eastern Time) and 8:50pm, and Sunday at 8:50am; Part 2 on Sunday at 2:10pm and 8:10pm, and Monday at 8:10am. The Densho interviews can also be viewed online at the C-SPAN website.