JACL Newspaper

              Kiriri iri Qfasra
10.MM
1113 it Banquet..
Many Veterans Attend
Army Museum Opening
(Continued from page 1)
sell to them.
"As General StiDweU said, we
have purchased with our blood
the right to be American citizens.
Mssaoka noted that the
100th/442nd had the highest
LQ. in the army. "Over 80 per
cent qualified for the army's
officers training school, but
chose to remain with the units."
The army waived its rule
against family members serving
in the same units. Five Masaoka
brothers served with the 442nd.
Several families had four sons in
the units, while over 100 other
family enlistments were permitted.
He then introduced the 25-
member Watsonviile issei senior center club, between the
ages of 74 and 92, "who
couldn't own land in California
until 1952." They sang "God
Bless America" in English,
learning the words phonetically.
It was during the song that a
young man strode down the
middle aisle and shouted, "I'm
with Vietnam Veterans Against
the War. What's going on here
is part of preparing for World
Warffl."
A nisei veteran grabbed his
arm before he got any further
and several military police in
plain clothes rushed up to hustle
him sway.
Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who
also participated in the ribbon-
cutting ceremony later inside
the museum, observed that it is
important to hear about the
evacuation of the Japanese
Americsns to concentration
camps "because to forget such
things is to make it possible for
them to hsppen again."
She said she had called on
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, a fellow
Democrat, many times on her
trips to Washington, D.C, for
assistance and advice.
The mayor was followed by
Supervisor Lee Doison, who presented s certificate of congratulations from the board of supervisors of the city and county of
San Francisco. Doison said he
was a Republican and reminded that the other nisei in the
U.S. senate is also a Republican.
In mtroducing Spark M. Ma-
tsunags, junior senator from
Hawaii, and one of the keynote
speakers, Masaoka noted he
was one of the few nisei soldiers
who served with both the 100th
and the  army  ssilitary  intel
ligence service during the war.
Twice wounded in the fighting in North Africa, he was invalided back to the U.S. and
assigned to the MIS at Fort
Sneliing in Minn., during which
time "he visited and gave
speeches in 1000 Midwest cities
to help relocate evacuees in relocation camps."
Many American soldiers, Ma-
tsunags said, did not know what
they were fighting for, but the'
nisei of the 100th and 442nd
"Not only were they fighting
for our country, but to prove the
loyalty of the nisei to the U.S.
and to fight prejudice against
Japanese Americans. And we
won."
"We showed that prejudice
can be licked," Matsunags said.
Since the many preceding had
spoke with pride on the history
of the 100th/442nd, Sen. Inouye
told of the three groups of
volunteers who made up the
units.
The first were the nisei Hawaii national guardsmen who
helped guard the beaches
during and after the attack on
Pearl Harbor, who had had their
guns and ammunition taken
away from them several weeks
later, and others who volunteered to join them.
The second were those who
volunteered from internment
camps.
The third group of volunteers
were the white officers who had
a chance to reject their assignment to an all-nisei unit, "but
stepped forward and risked
their careers and the jeers of
their fellow officers."
"No army unit is better than
officers. These white officers
trained and led the 100th/442nd
to become the most decorated
unit in U.S. army history, for its
size and length of service," he
said.
The two units combined piled
up seven unit citations, one
Congressional Medal of Honor,
52 Distinguished Service Crosses 560 Silver Stars with 28 Oak
Leaf Ousters signifying second
awards, 15 Soldier's Medals for
saving life, 4000 Bronze Stars
with 1200 Oak Leaf Ousters and
9486 Purple Heart Medals for
Sen. Inouye men introduced
Coi> James Hanley, ret., of
^Mountain View, the only surviving senior officer of the
100th/442nd, and the widow of
Col. Charles W. Pence, commander of the unit at the time of
the "Rescue of the 36th Texas
Division's 'tost battalion'."
An indoor ribbon-cutting
ceremony followed with the two
senators. Mayor Feinstein and
top army officers participating.
Only a few of the large crowd
was able to squeeze inside the
museum and many impromptu
reunion gatherings were held
outside before queuing at the
door to see the exhibit.
According to Harry Iwafuchi,
chairman for the evening banquet at the Fairmont hotel's
Grand Ballroom, the final total
of tickers sold for the event was
1113.
Eric Saul, curator of the Presidio Arm* Museum, who a year
ago came up with the idea of an
exhibit honoring the 100th/
442nd, was recognized at the
banquet for his efforts.
Saul said be came
several books mentioning the
nisei units and was surprised to
find that their deeds were being
forgotten and even families and
friends of the veterans had little
knowledge of their exploits and
the powerful afteT-etTects of
their deeds.
"I came to realize that seme
150 million Americans born
after World War II knew little or
nothing about the 100th/442nd
and s permanent exhibit telling
about the units and their fight
for equality was definitely needed."
In his speech at the dinner.
Sen. Matsunaga repeated his
earlier statement on the purpose
of the 100th/442nd fighting men
and added "this is the story that
has to be told" by the new army
exhibit.
Sen. Inouye, who became Hawaii's first congressman after
Hawaii gained statehood in 1952
and served two ter * *
being elected U.S.
1956, said the Islands
the 50th state in a Urge measure
due to the exploits of the lOOnV
442nd.
He also stated Japanese
Americans can be considered to
be in the forefront in the crvsl
rights movement that benefit ail
Americans.
He concluded, "though we
(Continued on last page)
Museum Dedicated
(Continued from page 2)
weft hostages in 1942, we now
enjoy a status we never dreamed possible only s few decades
ago."
Rev. George Aki, former
442nd chaplain, now retired in
Claremont, near Los Angeles, in
giving the benediction for the
banquet said "We are not here
to glorify war but to pay homage
to those who made the lOOth/
442nd meaningful."
Among the many messages of
congratulations read by Masaoka, toastmaster for the banquet, was one from the U.S.
Secretary of Defense Caspar
Weinberger.
He also introduced many persons attending the banquet, including Dr. George Kiyoshi Togasaki of Tokyo, 5an Francisco-
born World War I veteran with
the American Expeditionary
Forces in France in 1918, later
named world president of Rotary International.
Also present was Florence
Yoshiwara of San Mateo, director of the Jspanese American
Curriculum Project at 414 E.
Third St.. San Mateo 94401, who
is handling orders for "Go For .
Broke," a pictorial study being
published in conjunction with
this Army Museum exhibit. Pre-
publication price of. the book is
$27.95, plus $1.50 postage,
through Tuesday, March 31.