JACL Newspaper

              TUESDAY. MARCH 10. X98<
HOKUBEI f§ MAINICHI
Light Moments at Banquet
By Linda Ogawa Ramires
Hakwbei Mainicni Stafl
The people involved in the "Go
For Broke" Exhibit at the
Presidio of San Francisco said
they did ft because no one really
knew the story of the World War
II fighting unit that carved a
"niche in history" for itself
and other Americans of Japanese
descent.
But the approximately 2,000
persons who took part in the
day-long festivities marking the
exhibit's opening March 7 got an
earful of history behind the most
highly decorated regiment ia
armed forces history.
Accompanied by the pomp and
circumstance that marks  such
auspicious occasions, the opening
ceremonies at the Presidio Army
Museum had its share of visiting
dignitaries, presentations and
speeches. What made this
ceremony a little different was.
that three of the distinguished
speakers were part of the group
being honored.
Emceeing the afternoon ceremony and the banquet later that
evening at the Fairmont Hotel
was Mike Masaoka, best known
for his work with the JACL but
also one of five brothers who saw
action as s member os the 442nd
Regimental Combat Team/lOOth
Infantry Battalion.
The two main speakers for hte
the day both hail from Hawaii.
Senators Daniel K. Inouye and
Spark Matsunaga were introduced to their audiences not only
as Congressmen but also as
courageous soldiers.
Following a military band and
welcome by Col. Whitney Hall,
commander of the Presidio, each
man was given his turn to reflect
on his service and the meaning of
the exhibit.
Masaoka, an eloquent speaker
and author of the "Japanese
American Creed," gave personal
recollections of how it was to
train in Camp Shelby, Miss., and
be subjected to segregated
bathrooms for blacks and whites,
and not being "good enough for
either."
But the Japanese American
soldiers coming out from the
barbed wire fences of concentration camps and from Hawaii
"more than any other unit, we
knew what we were fighting for.
We were fighting not only for our
country but for the rights of
citizenship for our parents and
the rights of immigration for all
Asiatics."
Matsunaga. the junior Senator
from Hawaii used three quotes to
describe the feelings end inspirations of the Nisei who fought in
the war: "Go For Broke" brought
by the Hawaiian volunteers;
"You fought not only the enemy
but prejudice, and you won,"
said by President Harry S.
Truman when he bestowed
seventh and last Presidential
Citation on the unit, the highest
number given to any military
unit in history; and a quote by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
when he signed the executive
order forming the 442nd.
"Americanism is s matter of the
heart. Americanism is not a
matter of race or ancestry."
Inouye gave credit in his
afternoon delivery to an additional group of volunteers, the
non-Japanese officers of the
regiment. He also introduced
Col. (Ret.) James M. Hanley. the
sole surviving senior officer of
the 442nd. and the widow of Col.
William Pence, the first commander of the regiment.
The Senator received a battlefield commission and a Distinguished Service Cross, the
second highest medal swarded in
the country, during the war.
"The first battle," he said, "was
costly and bloody. The second
battle was less bloody but by no
means less important by the lives
affected by our struggle."
Inouye hinted that fair immigration laws following World
War II, Hawaii's statehood and
the smooth evolution of friendly
relations between the U.S. and
Japan might not have been
possible without the sacrifice and
bravery of the Nisei veterans.
Matsunaga told the story of a
friend who died in his arms
saying he was not afraid of death
if his dying meant life would be
better for those who followed
him.
But as in war. when there
were "grim moments in battle,
yet funny moments," the banquet, with more than 1,000 jn
attendance, contained humorous
anectdotes along with somber
memories.
Eric Saul, curator of the
Presidio Museum, and one of the
moving forces behind the exhibit, told the audience that for
four days, the Japanese American soldiers operated s "house of
ill repute" in France until four
colonels stole all the women. Saul
has been studying military history for the past 10 years and said
units with s 15 percent casualty
rate were pulled from the
battlefields, but the 442nd, with
a 50 percent rate, was not. He
said   it   was   not   because   of
Kejudice, as he once thought,
t the men were sent out on
mission after mission "because
they could get the job done." In
the course of its existence, the
regiment was swsrded 560 silver
stars, seven Presidential Citations, more than 4,000 Purple
Hearts, more than 4,000 Bronze
Stars and one Congressional
Medal of Honor.
Throughout its 14-month
training period, nine months
longer than usual, the regiment
had its mail censored and its
belongings searched by the FBI.
It was for these reasons that
Matsunaga urged the formation
of an organization to maintain
the exhibit. The exhibit will be
on display in the Presidio for one
year and then travel throughout
the U.S. before finding s permanent home.
The 442nd was honored with
official proclamations that Saturday from San Francisco Mayor
Dianne Feinstein, Supervisor
Lee Doison and State Senator
Milton Marks.
Recognition also was given to
members of the "Go For Broke"
committee, staff of the Presidio
Museum and students from
Gilbert (Ariz.) Junior High
School who contructed diorama
depicting the liberation of
Bruyeres, France, by the 442nd.