Japanese-American veterans recall discrimination battles
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
One of the nation's leading civil-rights groups yesterday heaped more praise on the multiethnic heroes of World War II, pointing to their personal sacrifices as the force that pressed the military into desegregation years ahead of society at large.
It was a fitting tribute for one of the final events in the week-long Japanese American Citizens League national convention, which formally closes tonight. That event will spotlight keynote speaker Norman Mineta, U.S. transportation secretary, who exemplifies Americans of Japanese ancestry prevailing over the racial barriers of the past.
About 600 league members attended the convention and discussed the persistent challenges facing America's diverse population, everything from the racial profiling authorized under the Patriot Act to hate crimes on campus, issues now tracked closely by the league, an organization best known for championing justice for victims of World War II prejudices.
Yesterday's luncheon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village was the time to reflect on that prejudice, and how it was overcome by wartime units such as the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers and the Filipino veterans.
When President Truman signed an order in 1948, the Army became the first American institution to desegregate, said Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the state adjutant general.
"There was considerable opposition at the time," Lee said. "But the wall of discrimination rapidly eroded over time."
The barriers were still firmly in place when keynote speaker Dan Inouye first tried to enlist in the Army, soon after Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into war. The recruiter told him he was classified as "4C."
"I didn't know what 4C meant at first," the U.S. senator and decorated war veteran said. "Then I found out it meant 'enemy alien,' and that all Japanese and Japanese-Americans had received that designation."
Eventually the Army formed the legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team, from which Inouye emerged with the Medal of Honor. But in the early days, he said, the unit struggled with parochial divisions — the Hawai'i-born AJAs trading barbs, and punches, with those from the Mainland.
Inouye said it took a visit to a Japanese internment camp in Jerome, Ark., to unify the troops, conveying clearly just how much they had to prove.
"We saw the fences, saw behind the wires men and women who looked like us," he said. "On the way home, there was no festivities on the truck; there was just silence. All of us were pondering, 'Would I have volunteered if I were in that camp?' "
But men from the camps did enlist, and the nisei Japanese-American 100th "Go For Broke" Battalion brought home honor to families, some of them still interned. The tensions persisted for a long time. Inouye remembered walking into an Oakland barbershop on his way home and being told that "We don't cut Jap hair."
The need to combat such prejudice underlies the work of the citizens league to win reparations for the internment victims, he said, as well as continuing efforts for civil rights.
"Until some miracle happens on this planet, discrimination and prejudice will be part of our lives," Inouye said. "We should never be so complacent to let it go unchecked.
"As far as I'm concerned, standing up and speaking up should be viewed to be as patriotic as those who wave the flag."
After the luncheon, Inouye was greeted by 47-year-old Army reservist Aaron Nakashima, who soon will ship out to Iraq as a member of the 100th Battalion, now an entirely multiethnic unit. They shook hands and chatted.
"I wish you the best," Inouye told him.
"We'll bring you some honors," Nakashima replied.
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
