Kim joined the service in 1941, and after spending just 6 months as an enlisted engineer, he was selected for Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning.
We need more of that sentiment these days.
And fight they did. The 100th Bn went on to become one of the most decorated units in WWII. #GoForBroke
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJc3C7ZU4AA4MHm.jpg)
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJc3C7aUwAAr38X.jpg)
Did Kim stay to make money?
Nope.
He sold his business and went back to the fight.
In his own words: "As a Korean, the most direct way to help my father’s country even a little, and as a U.S. citizen, the most direct way to repay even a little the debt owed to Korea by the U.S. was to go to Korea, pick up a gun and fight.”
After 2 months convalescence it was back home, right? Nope, straight back to the front.
This would earn Kim a little discussed but meaningful distinction:
Young Oak Kim became the first minority to command a US battalion in combat.