Shinseki receives award, credits heroism of AJAs
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki yesterday honored the sacrifices of Japanese Americans during World War II, both on the battlefield and in internment camps back home.
The former Army chief of staff, accepting an award for patriotism from the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, said those sacrifices made it easier for Japanese Americans to succeed today.
"I, for one, have lived my professional life without limits, without suspicion, without guilt, free to compete and to rise to the top of my chosen profession," retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki said.
"It came at the cost of so many dying to prove the loyalty of so many others behind barbed-wire fences," said Shinseki, who grew up on Kaua'i. "Those families who suffered such indignity and suspicion taught us all how to live our lives with pride and with grace.''
The foundation, which promotes education about a memorial here dedicated to Japanese-American patriotism during World War II, also presented awards to Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and former Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan.
Shinseki said the heroism of Japanese-American soldiers during the war removed barriers for others who later followed in the military.
"I, for one, have lived my professional life without limits, without suspicion, without guilt, free to compete and to rise to the top of my chosen profession," the four-star general said.
"I stood on their shoulders and I stretched as far upwards as I could.''
