Civil rights hero Korematsu deserves a permanent honor

By Brian McMaster

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 27, 2012

~~<p>Gov. Neil Abercrombie has proclaimed Jan. 30, 2013, as Fred Korematsu Day in Hawaii, the first state outside of California to give recognition to this great American civil rights hero.</p>
<p>In 1942, Fred Korematsu was a 23-year-old U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, living in Oakland, Calif. He had tried to enlist in the U.S. military shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, but was denied due to his Japanese ancestry. He then went to work as a welder in the Oakland Shipyard. </p>
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Gov. Neil Abercrombie has proclaimed Jan. 30, 2013, as Fred Korematsu Day in Hawaii, the first state outside of California to give recognition to this great American civil rights hero.

In 1942, Fred Korematsu was a 23-year-old U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, living in Oakland, Calif. He had tried to enlist in the U.S. military shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, but was denied due to his Japanese ancestry. He then went to work as a welder in the Oakland Shipyard. Login for more...