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TH: Talk to us a little bit about, because one of the also, you talked about the very first check ceremony. But then there was also when, as you were there for the program sunset, oh, there was also a closing ceremony, if I'm correct. And you had a lot, I think you were very much involved in that. Could you tell us a little bit about that and some details and memorable aspects of that event?

EK: Sure. It was definitely bittersweet for me because after the closing ceremonies, I believe it was September of '98, that would mark the end of the program officially and for most of the staff, they went on to do other things. And I was fortunate to have the opportunity to oversee that celebration, marking the end of that ten-year program. And it was something that we really thought long about how to... what we wanted to accomplish in that ceremony. I recall we wanted to make sure that it was celebratory, respectful, it was inclusive, that it included a lot of folks that were involved with the success of the program, not just within the department, but certainly with the community as well as other people that we have worked with. I recall we had a military color guard start us off, and we had kind of large photos from, some from the incarceration, but also from the first check presentation ceremonies that we blew up and we hung. This was also in the Great Hall at the Department of Justice. And I recall we put together, the office and all of our friends and family folded a thousand origami cranes. It's kind of symbolic of, you know, if you fold a thousand cranes that you have like your wish come true. And so for us, it was important to do that, to honor the symbolism of the program. And I remember getting a lot of friends and family involved to make sure that we had those thousand cranes folded.

And we also just invited a lot of different people that were responsible for the program. So those included not only the Japanese American community who might have been incarcerated, but also community leaders who were with a couple of organizations that were key to the passage of the legislation and that were key to working with us. We had members of Congress, we had members of the Commission on Wartime Relocation also there. We had past and present Department of Justice officials, including the attorney general at the time, Janet Reno. And so it was just a really nice way to commemorate the historic program and, yeah, it meant a lot.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2020 Emi Kuboyama. All Rights Reserved.