More than 33,000 Japanese-Americans classified as "enemy aliens" after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were presented Wednesday with the nation’s highest civilian honor — the Congressional Gold Medal.
CELEBRATION
A celebratory luncheon will be held Dec. 17 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center with at least 3,000 veterans and their guests expected to attend the event, which will start with a parade from Fort DeRussy to the convention center with the veterans riding on trolleys. |
The World War II veterans honored were nisei, or second generation, Japanese-American soldiers who were members of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat — two segregated Army units — and the Military Intelligence Service, whose soldiers served as interpreters and intelligence experts in the Pacific war; 13,000 of them were from Hawaii.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Medal of Honor recipient who lost his right arm serving with the 442nd, told more than 1,200 people at a U.S. Capitol ceremony that the U.S. government designated Japanese-Americans as "4-C" draft designation, or an "enemy alien," after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack.
He recalled that Japanese-Americans, many of them imprisoned behind barbed wire fences at internment camps, petitioned the U.S. government that they be allowed to fight in World War II "to demonstrate our love of country and our patriotism."
In an acceptance speech, Inouye, who wore a dark navy blazer with the patch of the 442nd RCT sewn on his pocket, said Gen. Douglas McArthur said the efforts of the intelligence service "ended the war (in the Pacific) by at least a year."
"This has been a long journey but a glorious one, and we wish to thank all of you, all Americans, for this recognition," added Hawaii’s senior senator, a member of E Company. "I am certain those who are resting in the cemeteries are pleased with this day."
Waialae resident Herbert Yanamura, who enlisted in the 442nd RCT during his senior year at Konawaena High School on Hawaii island, said he was "overwhelmed" by the attention and the accolades.
"It’s a really a collective effort of all of us," said Yanamura, who was transferred to the MIS and participated in the Leyte and Okinawan campaigns. "I am really touched for the country to give us this honor."
Pearl City resident Mitsuo Ted Hamasu, who was drafted into the Army in 1940, a year before the war started, represented the 100th Battalion on the podium and accepted the medal from House Speaker John Boehner.
Kaneohe resident and MIS veteran Alvin Maeda, 87, described the Capitol ceremony as "a touching memorial for all of us."
Tokuichi Nakano, 92, said although a lot of credit has been given to the 442nd RCT, where he served in the regimental headquarters company, "there are so many other soldiers who should get the credit."
The ceremony was attended by Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress and retired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, who is from Kauai.
The legislation, signed on Oct. 5, 2010, was co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
On Tuesday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno told 240 veterans and 600 family members at a special memorial ceremony: "From the shock of Pearl Harbor, and out of fear and prejudice, 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were sent to internment camps. But what’s incredible to me is that many of them did not allow that grave injustice of the internment to stand in their way. They remained steadfast in their commitment to their country, and volunteered to serve a nation in combat — a selfless act of devotion."
Those Japanese-American soldiers, he said, served as infantrymen, linguists, military intelligence specialists and artillerymen.
Odierno then pinned Bronze Star medals on the chests of 31 nisei veterans at a separate ceremony — more than 66 years after hostilities ended in World War II. An additional nine Bronze Stars were provided to the family members of soldiers who could not attend or who have died. Army officials decided that all soldiers who wore the Combat Infantry Badge from World War II were owed a Bronze Star; some, however, never received theirs.
The 442nd became the most highly decorated unit in the Army’s history, Odierno said. The 442nd and the 100th Infantry Battalion together earned seven Presidential Unit Citations, two Meritorious Service Plaques, 36 Army Commendation Medals, and 87 Division Commendations. Individually, soldiers earned 21 Medals of Honor, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, more than 354 Silver Stars, and more than 4,000 Purple Hearts.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Joseph F. Peterson., a 1968 Saint Louis High School graduate, said: "It’s educational for our nation to know that a group of soldiers and a group of Americans, who because of the mass hysteria when the imperial military of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor — were classified enemy aliens."
About 120,000 Japanese-Americans were rounded up, Peterson said, and put into any of 10 internment camps across nine states.
"Out of those camps came a demand, by 65 percent of them — 65 percent of 120,000 internees — to serve their country in a time of war," he said.
U.S. Mint sells bronze replica version of Gold Medal
A 3-inch bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded collectively to the nisei, or second generation, soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service is available for purchase from the U.S. Mint.
Each costs $44.95.
The website is http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001
The replica medal represents the veterans’ dedicated service during World War II and their commitment and sacrifice — in the face of a two-fronted battle against discrimination at home and fascism abroad, the U.S. Mint said.
The heads side, designed by Joel Iskowitz, master designer with the U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program, and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Charles L. Vickers, features nisei soldiers from both the European and Pacific theaters. The 442nd RCT color guard is depicted in the lower field of the medal. The inscriptions on the outer rim are NISEI SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR II and GO FOR BROKE, the motto of the 442nd RCT, which was eventually used to describe the work of all three units.
The reverse side, designed and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Don Everhart, depicts the insignias of the 100th Battalion, 442nd RCT and MIS. The 100th Battalion insignia features a taro leaf and a traditional Hawaiian helmet, both of which are emblematic of the unit’s Hawaiian roots. The “Go for Broke” Torch of Liberty shoulder patch represents the 442nd RCT. The MIS insignia is represented by a sphinx, a traditional symbol of secrecy. The inscriptions on the outer rim are the titles of the three units represented on the medal — the 100th Battalion, 442nd RCT and MIS. In addition, the years 1941-1946, the defined years of World War II according to the Department of Defense, are inscribed in the upper right field of the medal. A decorative ribbon connects the outer rim with the inscriptions ACT OF CONGRESS and 2010.
The three stars positioned along the border represent the three units being honored.
