|
442nd Veterans Club
933 WiliWili St.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96826
Phone: (808) 949-7997
FAX: (808) 949-1539
December 9, 1999
National Japanese American Memorial Foundation
1920 N Street N.W. Suite 660
Washington, D.C. 20036-4505
Dear Gentlemen:
After a thorough discussion, the 442nd Veterans Club Board of Directors at the meeting held on December 6, 1999, overwhelmingly voted on two issues surrounding the controversies regarding the inscriptions on the panels of the Japanese American Memorial in Washington, DC.
1. Voted to eliminate the name of the author, Mike Masaoka, and the so-called Japanese American Creed from one of the panels. It is not appropriate for a private sector individual to be so cited on this type of memorial. Research done by Ted Tsukiyama, 442nd Historian has shown that Mike Masaoka is not the father of 442nd nor is he the originator of the slogan "Go For Broke" as claimed by some groups and individuals.
2. Voted favorably to include the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion along with the other AJA Units as the 100th, 442nd and MIS to be inscribed in the panels. The 1399th Battalion played a major role during WW II by being responsible for the creation of vital military construction
projects. The 1399th Construction Battalion is an integral part of the AJA Council of Hawaii.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Okuma, President
442nd Veterans Board of Directors
|
|
|
|
|