2 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 LETTERS/WHAT'S INSIDE PACIFIC II! CITlZEN : ..............................................................................................•.....••..•..•.•..••..............................~ · . ~ · LETTERS TO THE EDITOR : HOWTO REACH US E-mail: [email protected] Online: \YWW.pacfficcitizen.org for the Japanese people, and the JACL." Nisei Ve~s Fought to Tel:(800) 966·6157 After the final vote was passed by th~ Fax: (213) 620-1768 Prove Our.Loyalty JACL delegates to approve the resolution, Mail: 250E.FirstStreet.Suite 301 in protest all the Nisei JACL veterans Los Angeles, CA 90012 walked out of the room. I had the opportunity to read the inter­ STAFF esting cornmentary, "Remembering the Executive Editor DONALD WAKIDA Caroline Y. Aoyagi-Stom Legacy of the 'No-Nos'" by Barbara CWO - 3, U.S. Navy, Takei.. In the article the writer acknowl­ Assistant Editor Retired Vietnam veteran Lynda Lin edges that it was the Nisei who answered Confidence in Sotomayor "Yes-Yes," who did not protest and shed Reporter blood to prove their loyalty and reverse NaleaJ. Ko I just finished reading the article, which I found very the anti-Japanese propaganda that led to *** Office Manager interestirig, regarding Sonia Sotomayor in the Aug. 7- the wwn internment. NAACP, Urban Kristin Iwata 20 issue. Sotomayor said: "It is inconceivable today It was these Nisei who formed the Circulation that a decision permitting the detention and arrest of famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team League at EDCl Eva Lau-ling an individual based solely on the basis of their race and the Military Intelligence Service. would be considered appropriate by our government." Many were wounded or killed in action to MDC Bi-District The Pacific Citizen newspaper (ISSN: fight for their country, the United States • 0030-8579) is published semi-monthly The key word in her statement is "today." Sure, it's Just a few words regarding the Pacific of America. These Nisei soldiers fought : \ (except. once· in December and inconceivable today but was not even. considered in Citizen. I enjoy reading it very much. • January) by the Japanese American to prove our loyalty, not the No-No boys. 1942. Then, it was considered a national emergency Sometimes ' I do get a little uptight after Citizens League. In 2000, the JACL held its national and the "Bill of Rights" written specifically just for reading an article. Today, in the Aug. 7-20 convention iil Monterey and our VFW these types of occasions, was set aside. edition I had such a feeling. JACL Sierra Nisei Post 8499, who are com­ 1765 Sutter St. Under the guise of ''National Emergency," the In the article regarding the EDC/MDC posed of the Nisei veterans of San Francisco, CA 94115 United States did everything to detain and arrest an wwn, Bi-district meeting I would have hoped attended. When the JACL placed before JACL President Larry Oda individual solely on the basis of race without regard to that there was an inclusion of the NAACP · , National Director: Floyd Mori its delegates a resolution to "apologize to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which as we all and the Urban League as coalition organ­ · " the Resistors" I had the opportunity to · know, was added specifically to protect the individual izations at the meeting. " p.o, .; a'OARD OF DIRECTOR.S speak: against it. I am a lifetime member of both organi­ Margie Yamamcito, chairpel'SOll; Paul' from big government. My final words were: ''If the JACL Niwa, EOC; Usa Hanasqno, MOC; zations as well as other civil and human My opinion of Sotomayor has become more posi­ does approve this resolution . an Kalily Ishimoto, eeDC; Judith MnO, rights groups. I look forward to seeing an NCWNPDC; Justine Koodo, PNWOC; , tive since reading your article and realizing that she amendment should be placed within this emphasis on such coalitions in the very .· Jeff ltami, IDC; Ted Namba, PSWDC; may truly be a Constitutional Law Supreme Court resolution. The JACL must also apolo­ near future. ';!'NaomOten,"Youih ", .i ;" """ "i Justice. gize to every Nisei family whose sons were Killed in Action, for, it was these ALLEN CURTIS JOHNSON SUBSCRIBE JON I. TAKATA Nisei soldiers who fought for our country, GElt a one-year su~tion to the Charlotte, TN · Thornton, CO · Pacific Citizennewspaperat · · · 'N'NW.paclficcitizen.O(g or caW ·tI. 1f;. · •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• w •••••••••••••••••••••• • (800) 9fl6.6157 . .. ADVERTISE To advertise in fle Pacific Citizen, call Immigration Reform (800) 966-6157 or e-man: JACL joins forces with other APA organizations to call [email protected] for the first ever National Week of Action. INSIDE »Page 7 LEGAL ------------.... THIS ISSUE No part of this publication may be repro­ 30 Years of Jazz-Fusion duced without the express permission j)f the Pacific Citizen. Editorials, news and the opinions expressed by columnists other than fle national JACL president or national director do not necessarily r&fiect JACL policy. Event and products advertised in the Pacific Citizen do not carry the .implicit endorsement of the JACL or. this Hiroshima defied odds, created its own sound and has publication. We reserve the right to edit articles. endured for three decades. PHOTO:OENSHO »Page 9 Reunion of the Heroes the Last Hi-District During WWII, the 442nd rescued the 'Lost Battalion' in France. Over 60 years later, they will meet again. PNW & IDC JACLers gathered in Ontario, Oregon for yoo've moved, please the event. new infonnation to: »Page 10 National JACL 'liacing Roots Creating a Legacy 1765 Sutter SI. Some JAs who are interested in their family history look The college where Mine Okubo once attended is working Building a 1bpaz Museum San Francisco, CA to the Japanese consulates to fill in the blanks. to preserve her donated personal items. Backers have laid plans for a 27,OOO-square-foot 94115 »Page 3 »Page 5 historical complex in Delta, Utah that would tell the Allow 6 weeks for Topaz story. address changes. Walking For a Cause Preservation plans Move Forward »Page 11 avoid interruptions Vietnam veteran Sinh Tho Nguyen is trekking across the A Califomia lawmaker has introduced legislation to save delivery, please U.S. - in Crocs sandals - to honor veterans. the Wakamatsu Colony. »Page 4 your postmas­ »Page 6 include periodi­ ALSQON ~, ~ :.:> ~" ...,(d?· ." · '>,,~ _ """C, ". in your change -How Do I Look? .of address (USPS .;:-: Form 3575) Jeannie Mai (righQ. th~ new fjoStof Style Network's PacificQitizen.org. fashion makeover show, has some·tipsfor you. PACIFlC e CrnzEN TOP STORIES AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 5 JAs Encounter Both Barriers, Hope in Family Genealogy Search One woman fmds 'long lost' relatives in Hiroshima. By NALEA J. KO Reporter Brenda Nakamoto, 50, always thought her relatives ill Hiroshiina died after the 1945 atomic bomb. But in the back of her mind there was a possibility her family was alive in Japan. About ten years ago her mother-in-law, Virginia Smallwood, made a concerted effort to track down Nakamoto's Japanese roots. That research would eventually lead to an emotional family reunion on Japanese soil. "It was a narrow, windy road to their neighborhood, but one of the most exciting moments was seeing a petite woman with short, curly hair standing in the carport waiting for us," wrote 'Shunjiro Sakaoka, l1ZY grandjathel; my Nakamoto in an e-mail to the Pacific Citizen. The woman standing in the driveway was Nakamoto's sec­ oj iisan, I /lever kne'rv you ..' ond cousin. Nakamoto made the journey to Japan in 2008 with her husband, two children and her husband's colleague. - Brenda Nakamoto (right) in her 2008 award-winning essay Although the 50-year-old's search for her roots ended joyfully, about searching for her grandfather (top, far right). The quest many do not have as much success. took her to Hiroshima in 2008, where she found her roots. To help the other JAs reunite with their ancestors, the Japanese Consulate of Boston, Mass. started offering a free pro­ the library was sparse." business trip to Japan. A day before leaving overseas, a business gram about a year ~go to residents in their district. The area Knowing where to begin genealogy research is the first bar­ associate said he found Nakamoto's relatives in Hiroshima. served by the Consulate of Boston includes Maine, New rier. Nakamoto's mother die4 about 17 years ago. Her father, 'The actual meeting in Hiroshima was when the reality sunk Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 91, is alive but lost his sight from glaucoma and can be" in," Nakamoto said. "It started from this area because the first person that asked "touchy" when asked about the family history, she said. Soon Nakamoto and her family' were navigating through for help was from New England," said Vice Consul Mika Iga, "My dad said that his parents were too busy working, trying Hiroshima in a taxi, headed toward her family's house in with the Consulate General of Japan in Boston. to get food on the table to have time to talk about things like Okada. Nakamoto was asked to pray at the obutsudan, the That ''first person" is the only one who has inquired about the that," Nakamoto said. So, she relied on the researching skills of Japanese home alter, and family shrine at the neighborhood program to date. It is not clear if the other 15 Japanese con­ her mother-in-law to learn more about her ancestors. cemetery. sulates in the U.S. will offer similar programs, although an offi­ Marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, photographs, Before the family left Hiroshima in 2008, Nakamoto's rela­ cial with the consulate in Hawaii said they assist people on a military records, diaries and other historical documents are tives said she resembled her grandfather - the inspiration for case-by-case basis.