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EK: Tink, are there any others whose contributions you want to mention?

TC: Oh, yes. I know I probably mentioned them briefly, but part of the reasons for the success of ORA were the three administrators, Bob Bratt, Paul Suddes and DeDe Greene. Bob was instrumental in getting the program off the ground and starting it from the four employees to the approximately a hundred, and for the first payment group. I don't think we would have been so successful without him. Paul Suddes was the redress administrator for a few years in the middle. He was also instrumental in conducting a lot of the Hawaii research and overseeing that for us. And then the last administrator was DeDe Greene, who came on in 1994 and then who was here for the ending of the program. And Bob and DeDe were federal career employees at the time, and they both won the federal government's highest honors for senior management, and it's called the Presidential Rank Award, it's for the federal executive managers, and I believe less than one percent of the people get that. And I know at the time, Paul had not been here as long as they had, but all three of them were so outstanding. And just in general, the ORA staff, I know I mentioned it, they were just so talented, they gave their best, and there was like a key group that was there through most of the program. That was Kay Roso, Aaron Zajic, Martha Watanabe, Lisa Johnson, and Joanne Chiedi. There were others I worked with at the beginning of the program who were just so helpful. Alicia West Simpson, Louise Ayres, Phyllis Chappelear, Jay Kim, Cheryl Watanabe, and Meredith Louthridge. And then I also want to give a special thank you to the Special Verification staff, and that was the small unit that I worked with for a lot of the historical research, both for eligibility and for the statutory heir classes. That was Eileen Fukuda, Cynthia London, Angela Gant, Frank Pfeiffer, Cora B. Shelly, Bella Kang, Hagos Lemlem, and then one attorney, Joe DeSanctis, he was here for a few years. And then, Emi, I want to thank you, because you were here for a few years for that. That it was a very outstanding special program.

EK: So are there any final thoughts or stories that you'd like to share?

TC: Yes. I was, in attending some of the workshops, and sometimes you would meet some of the JA community staff over and over and you became familiar with them. But I remember particularly, and what was so wonderful about the workshops is that we brought our laptop with all the information, you could verify somebody on the spot. But on a few different occasions, I would be speaking to a military veteran and they would relate the story about how they had been so proud to join the U.S. Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but then once the Executive Order 9066 was issued in February 1942, they were discharged from the military as "unfit." And they had to go back home, and I know one gentleman was saying he was so ashamed and embarrassed, and he started crying. And he just said he was so ashamed at the time, and then what was so meaningful to him is that the Act was passed and they received the presidential apology. And so many people mentioned how significant the presidential apology was as to what happened to them. And so it really helped heal some of the wounds and what had happened from those wrongs from fifty years ago. But that happened more than once with a few of these military veterans, and they would be just so ashamed and they were crying about it. But, so it was a very special part of the program. But it was just, I was so proud to be a part of ORA, and it was a unique opportunity in order to contribute to the program that was such national significance.

EK: Thank you, Tink.

TC: You're welcome.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2019 Emi Kuboyama. All Rights Reserved.