Advocate aids Kona-born Francis Sogi, a longtime advocate for Japanese-American veterans, considers his appointment to a prestigious Veterans History Project advisory council an honor that will help give rightful recognition to those who fought for the nation.
war history effort
Francis Sogi plans to collect isle
Japanese-American vets' storiesBy Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.comSogi was named to the Five Star Council for the Library of Congress project, which held its first meeting Nov. 8. The 23-member council consists of prominent leaders, veterans, elected officials, historians and journalists, each with a relevant personal connection to this endeavor. The group includes Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
As an advocate for Japanese Americans on the Center for Minority Veterans, "I made so much noise that they must have heard my voice," said Sogi, a New York attorney for 50 years.
The project's mission is to have the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress collect and preserve taped oral histories, and other materials such as letters, diaries, maps, photographs and home movies, of America's war veterans.
Sogi is enthusiastic about the project because it will create a central location nationally and internationally for the story of the role Japanese Americans played in all U.S. wars. The story will be in a permanent place and "for the next generation," and hopefully they will learn from the internment camps "what not to do," he said.
The project will collect and preserve oral histories and documentary materials, including letters, diaries and photographs from war veterans and civilians.
The former World War II military intelligence officer said the project will be affiliated with the University of Hawaii and historical societies in California, where thousands of Japanese were interred in the 1940s. Access to this story will be available over the Internet via the Library of Congress, said Sogi, deputy chairman and founder of the National Council of Japanese-American Veterans in Washington, D.C.
Sogi, a 1949 UH graduate and Distinguished Alumnus of 1994, said he would concentrate his efforts on Japanese Americans in Hawaii because he is most familiar with this segment.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 19 million war veterans living in the nation today, and 1,500 die every day. That's why "it's important for the younger generation to record every word" of their memories immediately, Sogi said.
"At first most veterans were reluctant to talk about the war because they were unhappy experiences. But now more and more veterans are talking because their grandchildren and the younger generation are becoming interested. World War II was the war that involved every man, woman and child for three to five years and changed the world drastically. The veterans had a unique experience on the battlefield that often involved death," he said.
A main part of the history project is a public education process that will encourage children to interview their parents or grandparents; students to interview people in the community; or veterans to interview each other. Many veterans and civic groups will become involved in recording the oral history of the veterans and those who supported them.
The project provides an informational brochure, a how-to instruction kit, a central information center on veterans histories and public programs that present the best of the materials collected.
Sogi said he raised his voice during his four-year involvement with the Center for Minority Veterans, reminding them that "the U.S. Army is no longer just black and white, but that so many other ethnic groups were involved."
Japanese Americans and native Americans made substantial contributions, especially during World War II, he said, and "it was recognized that the Japanese shortened the war by three years."