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Inouye suggests removing
By Gregg K. Kakesako
all names from Japanese
American Memorial
Star-BulletinU.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye says he may have a solution to a controversy surrounding an $11 million national Japanese American Memorial, which will be dedicated in November in Washington, D.C.
At the heart of the controversy is the planned inclusion of a modified portion of a 1941 "creed" penned by a Japanese American Citizens League official that has reopened wounds for many mainland Japanese Americans.
Inouye, a decorated World War II veteran, said yesterday that a possible solution to the controversy is to remove all of the names and quotes from the memorial.
Mike Masaoka, who was field secretary during World War II for the JACL on the mainland, and the league's role and position of cooperation and collaboration with the U.S. government during the war has been a source of controversy among many mainland Japanese Americans uprooted from their homes after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and sent to relocation camps.
In congressional hearings in 1942 Masuoka testified that Japanese Americans would be willing to sacrifice their constitutional rights to show their "loyalty" by cooperating and going to these camps.
In the inscription, Masaoka said: "I am proud that I am an American of Japanese ancestry. I believe in this nation's institutions, ideals and traditions; I glory in her heritage; I boast of her history; I trust in her future."
William Hohri, author and plaintiff in the 1984 class-action lawsuit for Japanese American redress, believes the memorial "may be as much a memorial to betrayal and falsified history as it is to patriotism."
Ron Takaki, former Hawaii resident and now professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said: "Many Japanese Americans are very troubled by Masaoka's super-zealousness in cooperating and even supporting the unconstitutional policies of the federal government."
Besides Masaoka and Inouye, inscriptions of four other Japanese Americans will be included on the memorial. They are former U.S. Rep. Norman Mineta, a Heart Mountain internee; U.S. Rep. Bob Matsui, a Tule Lake internee; Akemi Matsumoto Ehrlich; and former U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga.
Inouye, who lost his right arm fighting the Germans in Italy with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, said yesterday he hopes the controversy can be resolved soon.
In suggesting that all the names be taken off the memorial, Inouye said: "I don't think my name is all that important. I hope this matter is settled soon. It's not good."
Inouye's memorial inscription says: "The lessons learned must remain as a grave reminder of what we must not allow to happen again."
