George Aratani

By Sara Schreck, Spring 2013 intern

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center is greatly saddened by the recent passing of Japanese American entrepreneur and philanthropist George Aratani, who passed away at the age of 95 on February 19, 2013.

Born May 22, 1917, Aratani was an extremely generous donor to foundations and organizations that promote Japanese American culture and education.  “Aratani was a philanthropic leader in the Asian Pacific American community who supported many important projects,” says Konrad Ng, Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. One organization Aratani and his wife, Sakaye, contributed to was the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, which has regularly supported the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Aratani and his wife were interned under Executive Order 9066 during World War II due to wartime anxiety and racism toward those of Japanese ancestry.  Aratani has been quoted as saying, “It is my philosophy to help the ones hurt by the mass evacuation.  I myself lost the family business.”(Hirahara and Kwan, 277). He is survived by his wife, Sakaye, two daughters, and extended family.

Sources:

• “George Aratani.” Encyclopedia.densho.org. Densho Encyclopedia, 20 Feb. 2013. Web.
• “George Tetsuo ARATANI Obituary.” Legacy.com. Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2013. Web.
• Hirahara, Naomi, and Shelley Kwan, eds. Fifty Years, 50 Stories: Celebrate All Things Keiro. Los Angeles, CA: Keiro Senior HealthCare, 2010.

Daniel Inouye, official Senate photo portrait, 2008.

A Special Forum by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center: The Life and Legacy of Senator Daniel Inouye (1924-2012)

Senator Daniel Inouye, a highly decorated American WWII combat veteran, an eight term United States Senator, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death in 2012, was the most powerful Asian American politician in U.S. history.  As the Senate’s President pro tempore, he was third in line in the succession for the U.S. Presidency. Senator Inouye’s accomplishments were both extraordinary and historic for a man who, as a Japanese American during World War II, was classified as an “enemy alien” by the U.S. government and denied basic civil rights held by all Americans at the time.  His journey from “enemy alien” to war hero to President pro tempore, his advocacy for civil rights, the U.S. military, Native Hawaiians, American Indians, the people of Hawaii and others, and his work in the Senate all form a legacy that will remain alive for generations.

Senator Inouye’s life and place in American history is an opportunity to understand the arc of the Asian American experience over the past 100 years.  The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center is proud to host a special forum to discuss the life and legacy of Senator Daniel Inouye, a man of our time.

Forum Speakers:

• Terry Shima, 442nd RCT veteran
• Antonio Taguba, Retired Army Major General
• Tuyet Duong, Senior Advisor for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
• Donald A. Ritchie, Historian of the U.S. Senate

Moderator:

• Kathy Park, ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8 anchor

The program opens with a performance by the Aloha Boys.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa will not be able to join us for this event as previously expected.

This program will be webcasted live on our Ustream page from 1:30pm-3:30pm Eastern Time:
http://bit.ly/apawebcast

Lead Sponsor:

With additional support from the Japanese American Citizens League, the Japanese American Veterans Association,  Southwest Airlines,  the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, and ITO EN North America.

Click to download PDF flyer

Related Links:

• Download the Program PDF
• View photos from this event
• Official Smithsonian Press Release
• 2012 Annual Day of Remembrance
• Recap: 2012 Annual Day of Remembrance
• 2011 Annual Day of Remembrance
• Recap: 2011 Annual Day of Remembrance

via newsdesk.si.edu

The Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 2011 to Japanese American, or Nisei, World War II veterans in recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments will begin its tour across the country, beginning with the National World War II Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, in New Orleans. The medal will debut there during a special weekend of opening festivities for the new U.S. Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, Jan. 12, and will remain on view through Feb. 17, before continuing on to six other cities in 2013. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) has partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the National Veterans Network to share the inspiring story of these men who fought with bravery and valor on the battlefields of Europe and Asia, even while many of their family members were held in American internment camps back in the U.S.

The medal will be accompanied by an iPad application, social-learning website and curriculum available at cgm.si.edu. This educational package, available Jan. 12, was developed by the National Veterans Network in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Centered on the character values associated with Japanese American veterans—courage, respect, humility, perseverance, compassion and citizenship—these materials will provide users with a constantly growing social-learning community.

The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service veterans by the U.S. Congress Nov. 2, 2011, in recognition of their exceptional service, sacrifice and loyalty to America. The Gold Medal represents Congress’s highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. A complete list of recipients is available at House.gov.

Commonly known as the “Go For Broke” regiments, the 100th/442nd is one of the most highly decorated units in U.S. military history, having earned more than 4,000 Purple Hearts, 560 Silver Stars, seven Presidential Unit Citations and 21 Medals of Honor. The MIS, whose highly specialized contributions helped hasten the end of the war, was honored with a Presidential Unit Citation in 2000. More than 19,000 Japanese American soldiers served in these units during World War II.

After New Orleans, the tour will bring the Nisei Congressional Gold Medal to more top museums in the country, including the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, the Japanese American National Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Los Angeles, the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Oregon History Museum in Portland, the Chicago History Museum in Chicago and the Holocaust Museum in Houston. At the conclusion of the tour, the Congressional Gold Medal will be on permanent display in “The Price of Freedom” exhibition at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

• National World War II Museum, New Orleans, La. – Jan. 12-Feb. 17, 2013
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii – March 9-April 14, 2013
• Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, Calif. – May 4-June 9, 2013
• De Young Museum, San Francisco, Calif. – June 29-Aug. 4, 2013
• Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Ore. – Aug. 24-Sept. 29, 2013
• Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Ill. – Oct. 19-Dec. 8, 2013
• Houston Holocaust Museum, Houston, Texas – Dec. 21, 2013-Jan. 24, 2014

“American Heroes: Japanese American World War II Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal” is made possible by the support of AARP, Cole Chemical, Comcast/NBC Universal, the Japanese American Veterans Association, Pritzker Military Library, the Shiratsuki Family and Southwest Airlines.

The National Veterans Network is a coalition of Japanese American veteran and civic organizations representing eight regions in the United States that advocates on a national level to educate and enlighten the public about the experience and legacy of the Japanese American World War II soldiers.

Related Links and Press:

• 05/10/13 – Rafu Shimpo – “American Heroes” exhibit on display at JANM until June 9
• 05/06/13 – University of Hawaii Library Archives Blog – Congressional Gold Medal Exhibit, Bishop Museum
• 05/03/13 – AARP California - Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to Nisei WWII Vets Comes to California
• 04/2013 – Go For Broke: National Education Center - CGM Exhibit Opens in Los Angeles on May 4
• 03/20/13 – Midweek (Hawaii Newspaper) – Patriotism Proven
• 03/14/13 – Discover Nikkei – TOMI-TALK: The Character of the Nisei Soldier
• 03/07/13 - Rafu Shimpo – Congressional Gold Medal Exhibit to Open in Hawaii
• 03/05/13 – National Museum of American History Blog – Day of Remembrance: An interview with Grant Ichikawa
• 02/20/13 – Damon Tucker – Exhibit Honors American Heroes
• 01/10/13 – AP – Congressional Gold Medal Goes On National Tour
• 01/10/13 – Huffington Post – Congressional Gold Medal Goes On National Tour

Senator Daniel Inouye is second from the right. This photo was taken at the Press Conference for the Congressional Gold Medal Tour, September 13, 2012.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center remembers the life and service of Senator Daniel Inouye.  The story of Daniel Inouye is the quintessential Asian American story.  He will be remembered as a great man who served his home state of Hawaii and the nation for more than a generation.

Related Links:

• Aloha and farewell to the Honorable Senator Daniel K. Inouye by Noriko Sanefuji
• Video: Remembering Senator Daniel K. Inouye by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

From the Office of Senator Daniel K. Inouye:

Statement on the Passing of Senator Daniel K. Inouye

Monday, December 17, 2012

Senator Inouye began his career in public service at the age of 17 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He served with ‘E’ company of the 442 Regimental Combat Team, a group consisting entirely of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Senator Inouye lost his arm charging a series of machine gun nests on a hill in San Terenzo, Italy on April 21, 1945. His actions during that battle earned him the Medal of Honor.

Following the war he returned to Hawaii and married Margaret “Maggie” Awamura, and graduated from the University of Hawaii and the George Washington University School of Law.

After receiving his law degree, Dan Inouye, returned to Hawaii and worked as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu. He recognized the social and racial inequities of post-war Hawaii, and in 1954 was part of a Democratic revolution that took control of the Territorial Legislature.

Following statehood in 1959, Dan Inouye was privileged to serve as Hawaii’s first Congressman. He ran for the Senate in 1962 where he served for nearly nine consecutive terms.

Dan Inouye spent his career building an enduring federal presence in Hawaii to ensure that the state would receive its fair share of federal resources. He worked to expand the military’s presence on all major islands, stabilizing Pearl Harbor, building up the Pacific Missile Range and constructing a headquarters for the United States Pacific Command.

He has worked to build critical roads, expanded bus services statewide and secured the federal funds for the Honolulu Rail Transit project. He championed the indigenous rights of Native Hawaiians and the return of Kahoolawe.

He fought for the rights and benefits for veterans. Senator Inouye has left an indelible mark at the University of Hawaii, including support for major facilities and research assets. He has long supported local agriculture and alternative energy initiatives.

Dan Inouye was always among the first to speak out against injustice whether interned Japanese Americans, Filipino World War II veterans, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.

A prominent player on the national stage, Senator Inouye served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Commerce Committee and was the first Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

After developing a reputation as a bipartisan workhorse, who always would put country above party, he was asked by the Senate leadership to chair the special committee investigating the Iran Contra Affair. This was after a successful tenure as a member of the Watergate Committee.

When asked in recent days how he wanted to be remembered, Dan said, very simply, “I represented the people of Hawaii and this nation honestly and to the best of my ability. I think I did OK.”

His last words were, “Aloha.”

Click for more photos from the press conference. Photos by Marie Ramos.

By Madeline Sumida, Fall 2012 intern

As a Yonsei and grandniece of a 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran, I leapt at the opportunity to attend a press conference held on September 13, 2012, to publicize the national tour of the Nisei Congressional Gold Medal.  Awarded to Japanese American veterans of World War II in 2011, the medal will travel to seven museums in seven cities until it comes to its permanent home at the National Museum of American History’s “The Price of Freedom” exhibition. The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program will work with the National Veterans Network to generate a museum iPad app, social-learning website, and curriculum that focus on the primary “character values” of the Japanese American servicemen: courage, respect, humility, perseverance, compassion, and citizenship.

Members of Congress, curators, philanthropists, and five of the honored Japanese American veterans came to the press conference highlighting the collaborative efforts of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Veterans Network to educate Americans about the significance of the medal. During the conference, Senator Daniel Inouye (who lost his right arm while fighting with the 442nd) pronounced, “it takes a great and morally strong country to apologize.” By extending the highest civilian award for achievement of lasting significance and contribution to the nation, Congress acknowledges the exceptional service of more than 19,000 Japanese American soldiers who fought for their country in spite of the U.S. government’s violation of their constitutional rights and those of their imprisoned family members behind-barbed wire.

The 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team fought some of the most ferocious battles of World War II. It is perhaps best known for rescuing “the Lost Battalion,” an American battalion trapped by the Germans in the Vosges Mountains in 1944. During the Vosges campaign, the Nisei unit lost more than half of its men. Nisei members of the Military Intelligence Service proved to be invaluable interrogators and translators of intercepted intelligence and helped to build post-war relations between America and occupied Japan.

At the conclusion of the conference, photographers captured the five proud veterans as they stood beside the medal, the face of which shows the Nisei soldiers of World War II and the motto of the 100th/442nd, “Go For Broke.” The opposite side depicts the insignias of the 100th Battalion, the 442nd Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service. I was honored to meet Kelly Kuwayama, a 442nd veteran whose medals include the bronze star, the silver star, and the purple heart and was touched to see older Capitol building staff members approach him after the conference to thank him and shake his hand.

The Japanese Americans of my father’s generation maintain great pride in the achievements of the Nisei soldiers and often send each other word of any events honoring these distinguished members of the community. I know that my own family will be thrilled to hear about the Smithsonian’s mission to bring the Nisei story of World War II to a wider audience, so that these heroes may be an inspiration to American children of all races.

News Articles:

• 09/14/12 - Associated Press: Medal for Japanese-American veterans to tour US
• 09/13/12 - Smithsonian Press Release: Smithsonian Announces Seven-City Tour of Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to Japanese American World War II Veterans
• 09/13/12 - Urban Oahu – Hawaii News Now: Bishop Museum to host Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Japanese-American World War II Veterans
• 09/13/12 - Daily Breeze (CA) Article: Congressional Gold Medal for segregated Japanese military units on tour

Related Links:

• Congressional Gold Medal celebration recap
• Congressional Gold Medal Award Comes to the Smithsonian
• Recap: Annual Day of Remembrance at the Smithsonian

Gordon Hirabayashi, center, in 1999 at the former prison camp in Arizona where he was held for about a year. The camp was later renamed for him. Courtesy of the Associated Press (AP)

By: Aaron Sayama, Summer 2012 Intern

The Medal of Freedom is the highest honor awarded to civilians in the United States. It was established in 1963 by President Kennedy and is presented to those who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

One of the honorees this year, Gordon Hirabayashi, was a 24-year-old student attending the University of Washington in 1942 when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, sending tens of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry to relocation (internment) camps during WWII. Defying those orders, Hirabayashi turned himself into the FBI claiming the order was discriminatory.

Hirabayashi was convicted by a U.S. Federal Court for defying the exclusion order and violating curfew. His fight would take him all the way to the Supreme Court, where his conviction was upheld and he was imprisoned in 1943. After the war, Hirabayashi earned a doctorate in sociology and became a noted professor and committed civil rights activist. In 1987, his  conviction was finally overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He passed away on January 2, 2012 and was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

Related Links/Works Cited:

• White House Press Release April 26, 2012 – President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
• White House Blog – President Obama Awards the Medal of Freedom
• Politico – Photo Gallery – Medal of Freedom honorees 05/28/2012

Poster design by Nigel Briggs, National Museum of American History

By Noriko Sanefuji (Curatorial Assistant) and Christine Chou (intern)

This year’s Day of Remembrance (DOR) was special for many reasons. Not only is it the 70th anniversary since the signing of Executive Order 9066, the action that led to the imprisonment of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, it was also to honor the Japanese American WWII veterans that were recently awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

The program began with a keynote speech by Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki (watch the video clip above or download his speech here). He reflected on the roles of Japanese Americans who volunteered in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. General Shinseki recognized their merit in receiving the award and stated that their legacy shows what it means to be an American to future generations. He said:

Download PDF

“In all my years in the military, I can find no better, no more compelling, and no more inspiring story of what it means to be an American than the stories and battle histories of the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service. They were premiere warfighting units ranking among the very best in U.S. military history. The legacy of those who served in those units is a tradition of patriotism, loyalty, courage, honor, dedication and sacrifice that’s as old as the American Revolution. Their’s is an American story.”

General Shinseki’s keynote speech was followed by a film highlighting the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.  Afterward, there was a panel discussion that included Grant Ichikawa, MIS veteran; Gerald Yamada, Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) president; Christine Sato-Yamazaki Chairperson, National Veteran Network; and Doug Sterner, author of Go For Broke.  The panel was moderated by Franklin Odo, former director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. Everyone provided insights about the significance of the Congressional Gold Medal and the process of recognizing Japanese American WWII veterans.

Day of Remembrance Recap

Dr. Odo began the discussion by asking the panelists: “What does the Congressional Gold Medal mean to you?”  Mr. Ichikawa recalled his experiences in the MIS and reflected on how proud he is to be a recipient of the medal.  Ms. Sato-Yamazaki expressed her feelings on how the award ceremony represented the completion of a difficult, two-year effort to obtain congressional approval for the medal.  Mr. Sterner explained how the medal was the highest honor bestowed by Congress.  According to Mr. Yamada, the award gives JAVA the chance to make the Nisei soldiers’ legacy a living story, rather than just a historic one.

Museum visitors viewed the actual Congressional Gold Medal up close during the event.  Objects made inside the barbed wire camps during WWII were also on display at a nearby education cart. Artifacts were brought out of storage for DOR, and experts were also available to answer questions from the visitors at the education carts. Representatives from the U.S. Mint were there to discuss how the medal was created.

Interns Christine Chou (Smithsonian APA Program) and Erin Anderson (National Museum of American History) talk to a visitor at an education cart. Photo by Donald Hurlbert, NMNH

Smithsonian APA Program intern Christine Chou designed a second educational cart as an interactive way of learning about daily life in internment camps. Objects on display included typical mess hall food, tools from working life, school artifacts, leisure items (like a baseball), and craft materials used for art projects. Historical photos complimented the objects to provide a more complete picture of camp living conditions. Everyone was encouraged to pick up and touch the objects. Some of the most popular items were the medical tools, including a stethoscope, head mirror, and elbow splint, which visitors were free to try on and use.

Another popular item, the dog tags of a Japanese American World War II veteran, belonged to Grant Ichikawa, who was interned before joining the military. As visitors held his dog tags, they were told that Mr. Ichikawa was actually in the museum that day to tell people about his experiences, and it was a quietly powerful moment. For visitors and volunteers at the cart that day, having the opportunity to interact with these artifacts helped foster a deeper connection to our national history.

Related Links:

• View the original post for DOR 2012
• Education Resources from American History
• More about the Congressional Gold Medal
• Photos of this event on Flickr

Related Blogs:

• Day of Remembrance: 70 Years After Executive Order 9066
  February 13, 2012 – Written by one of our interns for American History’s O Say Can You See blog, this entry features photos of Asian Pacific American WWII artifacts.
• A Day of Remembrance
  February 27, 2012 - A recap of the day of events written by Sarah Emerson, a fellow in the Office of Public Affairs.
• Day of Remembrance: An interview with Grant Ichikawa
  March 5, 2012 - Blog from Noriko Sanefuji, curatorial assistant at the APA Program and program assistant in the Division of Work and Industry at the National Museum of American History.

Related Podcast: History Explorer: Japanese American Internment and WWII Service
Listen to the Podcast (MP3 file)
View more photos

Curatorial assistant Noriko Sanefuji interviews Grant Ichikawa, a U.S. veteran who enlisted after being relocated to a Japanese American internment camp with his family in 1942. Allowed to join the army after a need for interpreters, Mr. Ichikawa served the country proudly. In 2011, he and other veterans were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service.

Curatorial assistant Noriko Sanefuji interviews Grant Ichikawa at the National Museum of American History, February 2012.

TalkBack Board

We also utilized the National Museum of American History’s TalkBack Boards program to invite the museum visitors to post their comments.

Question:
Today the U.S. Mint will be presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Japanese Americans to honor their service during WII. How do you think America should honor its veterans?
You can join the online conversation by clicking here.

Fred T. Korematsu. Hand-colored gelatin silver print, c. 1940. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Fred T. Korematsu Family.

On February 2, 2012, our colleague, the National Portrait Gallery welcomes two photographs of Fred Korematsu (1919-2005) into The Struggle for Justice (2nd Floor), the incredible exhibition about civil rights in America.  Korematsu’s images will join portraits of cultural and political icons such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Betty Friedan, César Chávez, Leonard Crow Dog, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver.   Their images are windows onto the journey for civil rights and justice; together, their stories invoke the powerful sentiment from Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The photographs are gifts of the Fred T. Korematsu Family, a relationship that was cultivated by Ling Woo Liu, director of Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education.  Korematsu is the first Asian American featured in the exhibition and joins a growing collection of Asian American portraits at the NPG that includes APAP’s gift portrait of the Honorable Norman Mineta and Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter.

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Korematsu challenged the legality of Executive Order (EO) 9066, the action that authorized the internment of Korematsu and 120,000 other Japanese Americans during World War II.  Americans with heritages that could be traced to the other nations at war with the U.S. at the time—Germany and Italy—were not interned.  Korematsu refused the order.  While Korematsu argued that the order violated his freedoms guaranteed to him as a U.S. citizen by the U.S. Constitution, he was convicted.  His appeals went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in a split decision that the internment was a military necessity.  Korematsu maintained that the basis of his conviction was a clear case of injustice.  After the release of Japanese Americans following the end of World War II, the internment of Japanese Americans remained an unresolved issue for America.

Fred T. Korematsu (center). Gelatin silver print, 1939. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Fred T. Korematsu Family

Japanese Americans, researchers, legal experts, a Presidential Commission, and others, continued to review the circumstances and actions behind the internment.  Archival and legal research revealed that documents disputing the justification for the internment were suppressed.  Korematsu’s case was reopened and on November 10, 1983, his conviction was overturned.  The message was powerful, especially for those who were interned: Americans of Japanese descent had done nothing wrong by virtue of their heritage; they were, first and foremost, Americans.  In 1988, Japanese Americans impacted by EO 9066 received redress and reparations from the U.S. government.

Korematsu is a symbol for civil rights and justice.  His opposition to EO 9066 on legal and moral grounds joins the other voices in The Struggle for Justice who were similarly committed to a concept of American democracy that lives up to its ideals.  On every January 30, the state of California will celebrate Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, the first day in U.S. history to be named after an Asian American.

It will be seventy years since the signing of EO 9066, an event that is the subject of APAP’s Annual Day of Remembrance Program on February 18, 2012 at the National Museum of American History.   The APAP is part of the largest museum and research complex in the world and our role is to connect Americans with their rich heritage and history.

Update February 7, 2012

From left: Ken Korematsu, Karen Korematsu, and Congresswoman Doris Matsui

The Smithsonian APA Program attended a special presentation and reception for the portrait of Fred Korematsu on February 2, 2012. Two photographs of Korematsu are on display in the Struggle for Justice exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Click here for more photos from the event, including speakers and guests.

General Eric Shinseki

For Country: Japanese American Soldiers and Citizens & the 70th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066

Update March 5, 2012 - This event has passed. For a full recap, click here.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program is honored to host Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki.  This year marks 70 years since the signing of Executive Order 9066, the action that led to the internment of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.  However, this year also celebrates the formation of heroic Japanese American World War II military units such as the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and sections of the Military Intelligence Service.

Learn more about this period in American history through objects, veterans, speakers, and film. Learn about the Congressional Gold Medal (pictured above) awarded to Japanese Americans who served in World War II. Join us for an afternoon of reflection and hear amazing stories about perseverance and service.

Schedule

Parking info:
Please click here to download a PDF for more details on where to park at the Smithsonian.

Closest Metro:
Federal Triangle and Smithsonian.

Sponsored by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, National Museum of American History, National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, Japanese American Veterans Association, and the Japanese American Citizens League.

Travel support provided by Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is proud to be the official airline of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

442nd Combat Team Song. Click for more info.

Related Links:

• View this event on the National Museum of American History calendar
• Click here to view the 2011 event
• More about the Congressional Gold Medal
• Gold Medal event recaps
• American History’s Talk Back Tuesday - 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066
• Photos of this event on Flickr

Related Blogs:

• Day of Remembrance: 70 Years After Executive Order 9066
  Written by one of our interns for American History’s O Say Can You See blog, this entry features photos of Asian Pacific American WWII artifacts.
• A Day of Remembrance
  A recap of the day of events written by Sarah Emerson, a fellow in the Office of Public Affairs.

Related Podcast: History Explorer: Japanese American Internment and WWII Service
Listen to the Podcast (MP3 file)
View more photos

Curatorial assistant Noriko Sanefuji interviews Grant Ichikawa, a U.S. veteran who enlisted after being relocated to a Japanese American internment camp with his family in 1942. Allowed to join the army after a need for interpreters, Mr. Ichikawa served the country proudly. In 2011, he and other veterans were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service. 

Curatorial assistant Noriko Sanefuji interviews Grant Ichikawa at the National Museum of American History, February 2012.

Gordon Hirabayashi (right) and Grayce Uyehara at the Supreme Court. Photo courtesy Doris Sato, 1987.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program honors the life and legacy of Gordon Hirabayashi, who passed away on January 2, 2012. Hirabayashi was a sociology professor, civil rights activist, and known for challenging the basis of Executive Order (EO) 9066, which had authorized the evacuation and imprisonment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.  He was the petitioner in court case, Hirabayashi v. United States (1943).

Gordon Hirabayashi, 1942.

While a student at the University of Washington,  Hirabayashi objected to EO 9066 by refusing to abide by a curfew imposed on Japanese Americans and refusing to enter a relocation camp.  The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the government’s argument that the restrictions were a military necessity. It took four decades for Hirabayashi to be vindicated, with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that the internment policy “had been based on political expediency, not on any risk to national security,” as The Associated Press wrote.

Hirabayashi’s story about U.S. civil rights history was featured in the landmark exhibition, A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution at the National Museum of American History.

Here is an interview from the exhibit:

“I was charged with uh, violation of uh, exclusion order. And then, subsequently I was given a count two, uh, curfew violation by my own admission. They said: ‘If you feel this way, what’d you do about the curfew?’ I said: ‘Well, uh what were you doing the last coupla’ nights, were you out after eight?’ And he says ‘Yeah.’ And I said: ‘Well, so was I.’ And he said: ‘Oh, then you violated the curfew.’ And he put me down. So those were the charges against me. The uh, instruction (I’m condensing this) but the instruction of the judge to the jury uh, as they were to leave was: ‘You can forget all that Constitutional discussion by the defense. The Western Defense Command order is: That all persons of Japanese ancestry both alien and non-alien must abide by these orders. You are to determine first of all whether he is of Japanese ancestry. If he is, did he abide by these orders?’ And, all of those questions were admitted by me.”

— Gordon Hirabayashi: Violation of Exclusion Order

Save the Date!

The Smithsonian Annual Day of Remembrance (DOR) is on February 18, 2012.  It will be at 2pm at the Warner Brothers Theater in the National Museum of American History.