$1 Million for WWII Education Program
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California Assembly member George Nakano, D-Torrance.
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Funding bill approved by California Assembly budget committee
By Ethen Lieser
The roles of lion-hearted Japanese American soldiers during World War II have been slighted in American history books for too long. These brave soldiers sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom and liberty — the honoring of which was robbed from them and their families. But through the persistent efforts of Assembly member George Nakano, D-Torrance, the Budget Conference Committee approved the $1 million funding for the 100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation Education Program.
“It is a subject matter that is an important part of U.S. history,” said Nakano, whose uncle served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. “Given its significance, there is nothing that compares with it. There was this atmosphere that prevailed during World War II, where minorities were ignored regardless of their valor and courage. We need this history included in the California state textbooks.”
During World War II, 120,000 Japanese Americans, including 10-year-old Nakano, were held behind barbed wire fences in internment camps. Though they were legitimate American citizens, the U.S. military still feared their possible involvement in the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the possibility of future anti-U.S. roles during the war. But when the nation called, 33,000 Nisei stepped up to the plate to prove their loyalty to the United States.
However, many Japanese Americans refused to take part in a war where their own country destroyed their dignity and freedom. Draft resistance broke out in the internment camps, protesting it as a violation of their constitutional rights.
“The Japanese American experience during the war and after the war is probably one of the best lessons on civil rights that could be taught in our schools,” said Floyd Mori, president of the Japanese American Citizens League. “It is a story that needs to be told, and when people start understanding what Japanese Americans went through, civil rights will become an important issue in their lives and thoughts.”
Many of these soldiers formed the 100th Battalion (also known as the “Purple Heart Battalion”) and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Nisei from Hawaii and internment camps on the mainland. Later in the war, the two groups combined. According to Ronald Takaki’s book, Strangers From a Different Shore, Nisei soldiers fought bloody battles at Luciana, Livorno, and the Arno River, where 1,274 men perished — more than one-fourth of the regiment. The soldiers went on to take the Gothic Line in northern Italy and then in April 1945 attacked German troops on Mount Nebione. MIS (Military Intelligence Service) Nisei soldiers participated in the invasion of Okinawa, where U.S. Chief of Intelligence of the Pacific, General Charles Willoughby, estimated that their contributions shortened the war by two years. By the end of the war in May 1945, Nisei soldiers had suffered 9,486 casualties.
Even though their families and friends were interned in camps, the Japanese Americans who served in the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Unit courageously did so without contempt. The 442nd became the most decorated regimental combat team in the history of U.S. Army. And the 100th/442nd garnered 21 Medal of Honor recipients, seven Distinguished Presidential citations, over 9,000 Purple Hearts and 18,143 individual decorations — including 47 Distinguished Service Crosses, 350 silver Stars and 810 Bronze Stars.
“It is unheard of for a group to win that many awards,” Nakano said.
After the war, however, Japanese American soldiers still did not defeat prejudice in the land of their birth. Many soldiers needed to lobby to the U.S. Congress to receive many of these honors and awards. And most importantly — recognition. With the $1 million fund for the educational program, California is on its way to giving the soldiers the recognition they so richly deserve.
“It is time they get recognition for the sacrifices they made,” Nakano said. “Now it is our duty to educate the public on this subject, and one of the ways to do it is through the schools.”
While Nakano was able to secure $500,000 of the $1.5 million requested for the education program in last year’s budget, the additional funds will expand the program’s goals. Last year, only three school districts in Southern California received the Teacher Training Curriculum Program. Now, school districts in the entire state of California will be able to participate.
“This is something we wanted to follow through again this year,” Nakano said. “It is important to actually train the teachers, rather than to just include it in textbooks.”
The training program includes qualified trainers to lead workshops. To educate the teachers, they will be taught the overall history of Asian Americans before they are exposed to the Japanese American experience in the war and internment camps. “What happened in World War II affects all American citizens, especially Asian Americans,” Nakano said. In addition, an oral history program, kiosks, digital thematic station and a film on the 442nd Regimental Unit will be created with the funds.
“I was able to observe part of the training that took place, and as a former educator, I was pleased with how it was conducted,” Nakano said.
The SB 75 (Peace) 2001-02 Budget Act, which includes the $1 million for the education program, will now go to the Assembly and Senate floor, then to the governor for approval.
“It isn’t just important for Japanese Americans but American citizens in general,” Mori said. “We need our children to understand our history so they have some sense of pride in their ethnicity and ancestry to carry on into the future.”
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com. |
