Japanese American Veterans Association JAVA ADVOCATE Summer 2012 Volume XX—Issue 2 Inside this issue: Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick assumes command of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers President’s Message 2 Westdale visits Poland for 3 FORT McNAIR, Washington, Holocaust Remembrance D.C.—Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick, a Japanese American, Hollywood as Exec Director 4 became the 53rd U.S. Army Corps of Mori retires from JACL Engineers Commanding General and US Army Chief of Engineers JAVA briefs head of Japan Self 5 (USACE) during an assumption of Defense Force command ceremony on May 22, Shima retires as Exec Director 2012, at the Baruch Auditorium, JAVA Memorial Day events 6 Fort Lesley J. McNair. Army Vice New Round Robin editor Chief of Staff General Lloyd J. Aus- tin hosted the event. Bostick serves Caravalho at JAVA luncheon 7 as the senior military officer at Ishimoto receives DoD award USACE overseeing most of the na- Japan PM meets JAVA reps 8 tion’s civil works infrastructure and L-R: Renee Bostick, Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick, Cherry tree 100th anniversary military construction. He is re- and General Lloyd J. Austin, Army Vice Chief of Staff, stand sponsible for more than 37,000 ci- at Lt. Gen. Bostick assumes command over the U.S. Army Highlights from Dept of VA 9 vilian employees and 600 military Corps of Engineers. (U.S. Army photo) Wakatake promoted to LTC personnel who provide project man- agement and construction support to 250 Chief of Engineers, Bostick advises the Meet the Generals and 10 Admirals Army and Air Force installation in more than Army on engineering matters and 100 countries around the world. serves as the Army’s topographer and News from other Vets Orgs 11 the proponent for real estate and other Welcome new members! Lieutenant General Bostick also oversees related engineering programs. Bostick Free membership to veterans USACE’s diverse missions such as hundreds of remarked that, “Now, more than ever, environmental protection projects, the regula- the nation needs an Corps of Engi- Tour of 442nd-100th Italy 12 tory permit program to protect, restore and neers, one that serves the Army and battlesites in 2013 enhance thousands of acres of wetlands, and nation and one that truly teams with Westdale, Shinseki in Mich. the emergency response mission to support the our many government and non- Federal Emergency Management Agency. As National Nurse’s Week 13 government partners to solve the engi- neering and scientific challenges facing JAVA scholarships awarded 14 us. I’m committed to working with all our partners to continue the rich tradi- JAVA scholarships (continued) 15 JAVA Executive Director tions of the Corps, meet the needs of Speakers Bureau 16 Te r r y S h i m a r e t i r e s this country and always deliver.” Thank you Donors! General Bostick graduated from the Speakers Bureau (continued) 17 Terry Shima retires from U.S. Military Academy in 1978 with a Taps 18 JAVA Executive Director Bachelor of Science degree. He holds a Message from Terry Shima position. Bruce Hollywood Masters degree in civil engineering and Help request for film to serve as new Executive mechanical engineering from Stanford Director. Stories on page University and is a graduate of the From the Editor 19 4 (Bruce Hollywood) and U.S. Army War College. He is a regis- Membership application page 5 (Terry Shima). tered professional engineer in Virginia. JAVA Committee Information 20 Bostick’s father is African American. Upcoming Events and his mother is Japanese. PAGE 2 JAVA ADVOCATE SUMMER 2012 important priorities. In this position, he Distinguished Public Service Award. President’s Message will continue to develop JAVA educa- As JAVA Vice President, Wade will oversee membership and the JAVA Terry Shima, tional materials that can be used by edu- oral history project. JAVA’s dynamic cators to teach units on why and how World War II Nisei soldiers fought preju- Executive Direc- JAVA Secretary, Alan Ueoka, was dice. tor for the past reassigned to Hawaii last month. Lt. eight years, is Our new Executive Director will be Janelle Kuroda, US Navy, will be the retiring as Execu- Bruce Hollywood. Bruce is currently new JAVA Secretary. Janelle is a tive Director ef- serving as Deputy Chief of the Opera- Navy lawyer. Ms. Miyako Tanabe fective June 30th. tional War Plans Division for the Chair- has been appointed to replace Alan I and the Execu- man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He en- on the Executive Council. Miyako is tive Council are tered the US Air Force in 1986 and re- a veteran of the US Air Force and very sorry to lose Terry as our Execu- tired as a Colonel in 2007 while serving was a member of the first JAVA tive Director. Among his many accom- on the Joint Staff. Bruce served as Board. plishments, he helped transition JAVA Vice President for the past three JAVA’s Executive Council from one Our new leadership on JAVA’s Ex- years. with mainly World War II veterans to ecutive Council will continue to se- one today that has war veterans who Taking Bruce’s place as Vice President cure JAVA’s viability for the foresee- served from World War II to the will be Wade Ishimoto. Wade has over able future. present. He was a critcal contributor 50 years of service to our nation as a —Gerald Yamada, Esq. in securing the Congressional Gold member of the US Army Special Forces, JAVA President Medal Award and US Army Bronze former Senior Advisor to the Assistant Star Awards for the Nisei soldiers. Secretary of Defense for Special Opera- tions and Low Intensity Conflict, Special The good news is that Terry will re- Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary main on the Executive Council and of the Navy, and now working in the has agreed to chair the Education Honorary Chairs private sector. Earlier this year, Wade Committee, leading one of our most received the Department of the Navy’s Senator Daniel K. Akaka, U.S. Senate Senator Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. Senate The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta Hershey H. Miyamura, Medal of Honor George Joe Sakato, Medal of Honor Officers Gerald Yamada, Esq., President Wade Ishimoto, Vice President Janelle Kuroda, Lt., USN, Secretary Mark Nakagawa, Lt. Col., USA (Ret), Treasurer Robert Nakamoto, Immediate Past President Executive Council Above Officers plus: William Houston, Esq., Deputy Executive Director Grant Ichikawa Miyako Miyagi Calvin Ninomiya, Esq., General Counsel Terry Shima, Executive Director (outgoing) Bruce Hollywood, Col., USAF (Ret), WASHINGTON, D.C.—Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisa led the 70th com- Executive Director (incoming) memoration rites at the WW II Memorial in Washington, DC on April 11, 2012. The Kay Wakatake, Lt. Col., USA wreath laying ceremony took place at the Bataan marker of the Memorial. Among Reuben Yoshikawa those in attendance were Filipino WW II veterans, staff members of the Embassy, Major General (Ret) Antonio Taguba, whose father survived the Bataan Death JAVA ADVOCATE March, and a JAVA representative. Following the ceremony a memorial service and Akio Konoshima, Editor Emeritus reception was held at the Embassy Romulo Hall to honor the late Guillermo Rumin- Kay Wakatake, Lt. Col., USA, Editor gan, a friend of JAVA. Janelle Kuroda, Lt., USN, Assistant Editor SUMMER 2012 JAVA ADVOCATE PAGE 3 Westdale visits Poland for Holocaust Rememberance Day program GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Virgil Westdale, a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan and a veteran of the 522nd Field the German guards had already fled, the exterminating Artillery Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team ovens were still warm, and emaciated bodies stacked up. (RCT), visited Poland from April 16 to 21, 2012. He partici- The Jewish inmates were clad in thin black and white pated in the International March of the Living, a 1.6 mile prison robes and were in conditions almost impossible to walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau concentration camp, by describe. The inmates were just skin and bones walking in thousands of high school students from over 30 countries on a daze, with many lying on the snow-filled ground too Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 19, 2012. Westdale was weak to move. The 522nd men were in disbelief that one the only veteran from the 522nd and one of the 16 American group in the human race could do this to another. While liberators selected for this trip by the International March of liberating the Jewish inmates, some Nisei thought of their the Living. own families held behind barbed wire concentration camps in America. Between 1933 and 1945 the German government, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, carried out a systematic Westdale said when Jewish inmates saw the Nisei their persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews. This genocide is first reaction was that the Japanese Army had been sent now known as Holocaust. to kill them. “It took a lot of persuasion to convince them we were Americans of Japanese ancestry,” Westdale said. Since 1988, The International March of the Living has annu- ally transported thousands of high school students from all Before December 7, 1941, Westdale was a licensed com- over the world to Poland for the march. This year the march mercial pilot in the Army Air Corps reserve teaching aerial included concentration camp liberators for the first time. acrobatics and instrument flying. When war was declared David Widawsky, Associate Director of the Liberator Project against Japan, he was concerned his flying days were over. of the International March of Living, said liberators were Thinking it would ensure his longevity as an Army pilot, included because “they were eyewitnesses to the atrocities he changed his name from Nishimura to Westdale without an agenda.” He also hopes, upon their return, they (Nishi=west; mura=dale).