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Ancestry in this country, most of whom were forced arbitrarily to leave their homes and associations on the West Coast in the spring of 1942, to be imprisoned as suspect citizens in American-style concentration camps, and to be denied constitutional rights simply because, in the words of the Supreme Court, they had an "affinity" to the then enemy Japanese.

At that time -- and to this day -- I felt that I owed this effort to those Japanese Americans who volunteered to fight, and if necessary to die, not only for their own country that had deprived them of their dignity and freedom, but also to destroy fascism and totalitarianism everywhere on earth, and also to earn for their families and their posterity the opportunities and equalities to which they were entitled as native-born Americans.

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That same summer, on July 15, 1946, the survivors still in the service of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team proudly marched down Constitution Avenue and onto the Mall of the White House, acclaimed as the "Purple Heart Regiment" with casualties numbering more than 300% of its original strength and memorized as "the most decorated unit in American military history for its size and length of service'.

There, in a driving rainstorm, then Commander-In-Chief and President Harry S. Truman affixed the seventh Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation streamer onto the colors and battle flag of the 442nd. As he presented the nation's highest unit award, equivalent to the Medal of Honor for individuals, to these American Japanese troops, the President saluted and succinctly observed: "I can't tell you how much I appreciate the privilege of being able to show you just how much the United States thinks of what you have done... I think that Americanism is not a matter of race of creed, but of the heart. You fought not only the enemy, but prejudice -- and you won."

Mr. Chairman, what had we actually won? Today, through legislative, executive, and judicial actions, our status as citizens is generally acknowledged. Nevertheless, as even the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians officially found as late as last year (1983), we still are marked in much of the public mind with the presumptions of disloyalty and unassimilability that allowed our own government in World War II to herd most of us into wilderness camps, without trial or hearing, not even charges or indictments, at a time when our civil courts were in operation, solely on account of the belief by the same Army that so proudly proclaimed our unprecedented military record that, somehow, in the words of the then Commanding General of the Western Defense Command, "A Jap's a Jap. And giving him a piece of paper attesting to his citizenship doesn't change that fact."

Subsequently, this same General explained in a letter to the then Secretary of War, "In the war in which we are now engaged racial affinities are not severed by migration. The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship, have become 'Americanized', the racial strains are undiluted. To concluded otherwise is to expect that children born of white parents on Japanese soil sever all racial affinity and become loyal Japanese subjects, ready to fight and, if necessary, to die for Japan in a war against the nation of their parents. That Japan is allied with Germany and Italy in this struggle is no ground for assuming that any Japanese, barred from assimilation by convention as he is, though born and raised in the United States, will not turn against this nation when the final test of loyalty comes..."

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In services commemorating the 20th anniversary of the activation of the 442nd in February 1943, then four-star General Jacob Devers, who had been

our commanding general in the invasion of Southern France and in the 442nd's drive northward on the Italy-Swiss-French-German borders, paid this tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery: "The Unknown Soldier of World War II might be Japanese American."

In truth, the Nisei war dead "known only to God", symbolize the supreme sacrifice of all Americans who "gave their last full measure of devotion". In death, they are equal in all respects to their buddies of other races who also fell in battle. We, the living, can show "no greater love" than to assure that they shall not "have died in vain", that the ideals, principles, and objectives for which they fought so gallantly are provided without fear or favor to all Americans without regard to their ancestry.

In any case, this unwarranted stigma, that for some unknown reason "being of the Japanese race" somehow prevented us from becoming as American -- if you will -- as the native born children of other immigrants, which we Nisei GIs believed that we had erased forever with our blood and lived in every theater of that worldwide conflict, remains with us even today as a badge of dishonor and disgrace in spite of almost a century citizenship on the part of the Japanese in this nation.

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Perhaps it was not sheer coincidence, Mr. Chairman, that your State of Texas played a more prominent role in the heroics of the Japanese American combat infantrymen in Italy and in France than you may have been aware of.

The Nisei National Guardsmen of Hawaii who made up the 100th Infantry Battalion, which was later to become the First Battalion of the 442nd while retaining their original designation because of their outstanding gallantry, first fought shoulder to shoulder with the Fighting Texans of the 36th Infantry Division as part of the 34th "Red Bull" Division of Iowans and

Nebraskans at the bitter fight at Cassino, then in the bloody crossing of the Rapido, as well as at Anzio beachhead. Thereafter, leading the drive on to the Arno River, the 442nd Combat Team participated in the invasion of Southern France in the fall of 1944. Later, now, as part of the 36th Texas Division, we rescued what was left of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment, after several other outfits had failed in the effort, in the Vosges Mountains in late October 1944. In what military historians have described as one of the 50 greatest battles engaged in by American troops, the Nisei of the 100th and 442nd suffered more than double the number of Texans saved in killed and almost nine times the casualties as the number rescued. I remember well that valiant mission in which all of us were declared to be "Honorary Texans", for I lost a brother in those rugged forested hills, while another brother was just returning after hospitalization for wounds suffered earlier in Italy to help fill our declared ranks.

Perhaps, because so many of us prospective beneficiaries of this pending legislation are "Honorary Texans", including both Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga who were recently your colleagues here in the House, while many others of Japanese ancestry served with equal -- if not more -- heroism in the Pacific Theater in the Military Intelligence Service, thereby -- in the reports of General Douglas MacArthur's Intelligence Chief -- preventing possibly hundreds of thousands of casualties, including those of many Texans serving in the Army, Navy and Marines in that island-hopping campaign toward victory, saving billions of American dollars, and shortening the war by at least two years, your distinguished Majority Leader James Wright is the lead sponsor of H.R. 4110 "To accept the findings and to implement the recommendations of the

the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians" and cited as the "Civil Liberties Act of 1983".

We who fought in the Mediterranean and European Theaters salute our fellow Japanese Americans who served in the Pacific and the Asian Mainland against Japanese troops in combat intelligence and as interpreters and translators because we know that their fate as possible prisoners of war or hospitalized wounded would have been far more terrible than ours because of their innocent "affinity" with the enemy and the circumstances of such imprisonment if captured.

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For more than 25 personal appearances before this Committee since my first testimony in 1946, I represented the JACL. Now that organization -- then and now the largest, oldest, and most effective of Nikkei organizations -- is led and represented by a new generation of Japanese Americans.

So, today, I am representing a newly organized umbrella association of Japanese American war veterans, headquartered in San Francisco and incorporated as "Go For Broke, Inc."

"Go For Broke", as you may know, was the battlecry of the 442nd that is now a respected and recognized phrase in our American language, meaning "shoot the works", "go all out", "gamble all in one supreme effort", and other words which epitomize the spirit that motivated all of us who served in all branches of the armed forces in World War II.

Though our membership comprises mostly American veterans of Japanese ancestry who fought in World Wars I and II, as well as in Korea and Vietnam, and as recently as in the invasion of Grenada and the mission in Lebanon, most of us saw active service in World War II. Now, in the twilight of our lives,

we have decided to "Go for Broke" once again in the ever continuing crusade against racism, bigotry, and injustice; this time to secure if possible enactment of H.R. 4110, in the hope that never again, here or elsewhere, will any individual or minority suffer arbitrarily and without reasonable cause and "due process".

Today, on behalf of your fellow Americans who have served our country so well in times of war and peace, may I enlist your cooperation, Mr. Chairman, in this campaign to redeem the pledge and promise of President Truman almost four decades ago -- to gain the victory as home over prejudice -- and to join us in this "Go For Broke" crusade that, in truth, affects the integrity of the citizenship of all Americans, without regard to ancestry, previous nationality, race, creed, religion, color, sex, and age.

Of all concerned groups, we Japanese American war veterans believe that we have earned the right to speak out in favor of H.R. 4110 as long overdue and meritorious legislation. And that is my purpose today in presenting the first ever testimony of "Go For Broke, Inc."

Commission Reports and H.R. 4110

We are aware that both the bill under consideration and the reports and recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians deal with not only the travails of the Japanese Americans on the continental mainland, as well as the then territories of Hawaii and Alaska, but also with the Aleuts in the Alaska Defense Command, in World War II.

Since we did not personally experience the agonies endured by the Aleuts, and since no doubt many others more competent than we will testify concerning their problems, on behalf of the Nisei veterans I will restrict my

comments to those issues relating to our special and unique concerns. At the same time, though, I cannot but urge the most humane and generous redress for those Aleuts who were the victims of the same war as we were.

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Mr. Chairman, among the relatively few criticisms of the Commission and its reports and recommendations are two that I believe I can respond to as competently as any. These relate to the charges that members of the Commission were biased in their outlook and that they failed to view the facts and conditions as they actually were some 42 years ago.

To begin with, the resort to high level commissions to investigation facts and to make recommendations for congressional and/or presidential relief is a time-honored procedure of our system of government.

In this particular case, the Congress itself overwhelmingly established this investigative bipartisan commission of nine, with specific directives as to its responsibilities. The President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate each appointed three commissioners. Seven of the nine are lawyers by training and profession, another a Catholic Priest, and still another a successful businessman.

All have served in several other capacities during their distinguished careers. Among them, two are former United States Senators, one is an incumbent Congressman while another formerly served in the House, two have been cabinet secretaries, another an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, with still another a sitting judge of a State court. One has also served as an Ambassador of the United States, another has been an educator and the Chairman of a national commission whose members were nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One has been the general counsel in two cabinet

departments. Etc. A woman was a member, as well as an evacuee who later served in the Army of the United States with distinction and is now a Judge of Common Pleas in the City of Philadelphia.

One can hardly claim that such outstanding commissioners, most of whom being attorneys at law, are not capable of impartial, honest, and realistic research and investigation. This is especially true when all nine were unanimous in their findings and only one dissented as to the compensatory relief recommended.

The Commission held 20 days of hearings in various cities across the country, listened to testimony from more than 750 witnesses, including the evacuees themselves, former government officials who were responsible for the various actions taken under authority of Executive Order No. 9066, public figures, interested citizens, historians and other professionals who have studied the subjects of the Commission inquiry. In addition, the commissioners and its staff carried on extensive research, especially of previously classified and other information not known or available to the general public.

It is difficult to conceive of a more exhaustive and comprehensive review and it is one that certainly a single individual or group can hardly question reasonably as inadequate and/or biased as to the actual facts and general conclusions.

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For the record, may I state that I was the National Secretary and field Executive of the JACL from August 1941 to June 1943 when I reported for induction into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. And, to the best of my knowledge and belief, I am the only surviving national officer of the JACL who -- at one time or another -- met most, if not all, of the major officials, both military and civilian, who were responsible for this wartime agony and discussed various aspects of this evacuation, detention, and relocation travail before, during, and after the issuance of Executive Order No. 9066, which was issued February 19, 1942.

Since I was not required to undergo the so-called evacuation process, although my family members were, I am not competent to address myself to actual camp life in both the so-called assembly centers and the relocation camps. But I do claim to be as knowledgeable as any evacuee as to the public events, decisions, and actions precipitated by the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

After more than two years with the 442nd, I returned to JACL to become its Washington Representative, a full-time activity until the summer of 1952 when I accepted a part-time retainer arrangement with JACL until 1972, when I voluntarily retired as a paid staffer, though retaining my membership in JACL.

For what it is worth, based on my personal recollections and a quick review of documents and publications available to me over the years, including most -- if not all -- of the major nonfiction books and papers written on the subject during the past half century and more, I can testify that the Commission findings are factual, accurate, and impartial. Many previously classified and/or unknown details, much of its obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, are revealed and exposed for the first time.

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Part 1 of the Report entitled "Personal Justice Denied" is a 467-page documentary that satisfies two of the three directives mandated by the Congress in its authorizing legislation, to (1) "review the facts and circumstances surrounding Executive Order Numbered 9066, issued February 19, 1942, and the impact of such Executive Order on American citizens and permanent resident aliens" and (2) "review directives of the United States military forces requiring the relocation, and in some cases, detention in internment camps of American citizens..."

Part 2, which has to do with the Commission's Recommendations, emphasizes that

In sum, Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity, and the decisions that followed from it -- exclusion, detention, the ending of detention and the ending of exclusion -- were not founded upon military considerations. The broad historical causes that shaped these decisions were race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership. Widespread ignorance about Americans of Japanese descent contributed to a policy conceived in haste and executed in an atmosphere of fear and anger at Japan. A grave personal injustice was done to the American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who, without individual review or any probative evidence against them, were excluded, removed and detained by the United States during World War II.

The excluded people suffered enormous damages and losses, both material and intangible. To the disastrous loss of farms, businesses and homes must be added the disruption for many years of careers and professional lives, as well as the long-term loss of income, earnings and opportunity. Japanese American participation in the postwar boom was delayed and damaged by the losses of valuable land and growing enterprises on the West Coast which they sustained in 1942...

Less tangible, the ethnic Japanese suffered the injury of unjustified stigma that marked the excluded. There were physical illnesses and injuries directly related to detention, but the deprivation of liberty is no less injurious because it wounds the spirit rather than the body. Evacuation and relocation brought psychological pain, and the weakening of a traditionally strong family structure under pressure of separation and camp conditions. No price can be placed on these deprivations...

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In my judgment, the Commission Report does not emphasize enough the failure of the Judiciary in protecting the rights of a minority in times of emergency against the abuses of the Legislative and Executive Branches, as well as an angry and hysterical general public. Professor Peter Irons of the University of California, San Diego, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Boston University, exposes the failure of the Judicial System in his most recent book "Justice At War: The Story of the Japanese American Internment Cases".

On the other hand, again in my judgment, the Commission Report also fails to credit the JACL for its leadership in those critical days. Had the JACL not been able to persuade the overwhelming majority of the Nikkei population on the West Coast to collectively collaborate and cooperate in the mass movement as its supreme gesture of loyalty to the United States, and had armed troops been forced to resort to violence to remove these people from their West Coast homes and associations, I believe that the Army would have retained control and that the civilian War Relocation Authority would never have been created to administer these camps. Most likely had the Japanese American minority not demonstrated their loyalty under the most difficult of circumstances, their status and so-called acceptance today would be far different more hostile and antagonistic than it is.

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Part 2 of the Commission Report recommends five measures that have been incorporated into H.R. 4110, noting that "Each measure acknowledges to some degree the wrongs inflicted during the war upon the ethnic Japanese. None can fully compensate or, indeed, make the group whole again." The several forms of remedies comprise "an act of national apology" in the words of the Commission.

1. The Commission recommends that Congress pass a joint resolution, to be signed by the President, which recognizes that a grave injustice was done and offers the apologies of the nation for the acts of exclusion, removal and detention.

2. The Commission recommends that the President pardon those who were convicted of violating the statutes imposing a curfew on American citizens on the basis of their ethnicity and requiring the ethnic Japanese to leave designated areas of the West Coast or to report to assembly centers. The Commission further recommends that the Department of Justice review other wartime convictions of the ethnic Japanese and recommend to the President that he pardon those whose offenses were grounded in a refusal to accept treatment that discriminated among citizens on a basis of race or ethnicity. Both recommendations are made without prejudice to cases currently before the courts.

3. The Commission recommends that Congress direct the Executive agencies to which Japanese Americans may apply for the restitution of positions, status or entitlements lost in whole or in part because of acts or events between December 1941 and 1945 to review such applications with liberality, giving full consideration to the historical findings of this Commission. For example, the responsible divisions of the Department of Defense should be instructed to review cases of less than honorable discharge of Japanese Americans from the armed services during World War II over which disputes remain, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should be directed to instruct the Commissioner of Social Security to review any remaining complaints of inequity in entitlements due to the wartime detention.

4. The Commission recommends that Congress demonstrate official recognition of the injustice done to American citizens of Japanese ancestry and Japanese resident aliens during the Second World War, and that it recognize the nation's need to make redress for those events, by appropriating monies to establish a special foundation.

The Commissioners all believe a fund for educational and humanitarian purposes related to the wartime events is appropriate, and all agree that no fund would be sufficient to make whole again the lives damaged by the exclusion and detention. The Commissioners agree that such a fund appropriately addresses an injustice suffered by an entire ethnic group, as distinguished from individual deprivations.

Such a fund should sponsor research and public educational activities so that the events which were the subject of this inquiry will be remembered, and so that the causes and circumstances of this and similar events may be illuminated and understood. A nation which wishes to remain just to its citizens must not forget its lapses. The recommended foundation might

appropriately fund comparative studies of similar civil liberties abuses or of the effect upon particular groups of racial prejudice embodied by government action in times of national stress; for example, the fund's public educational activity might include preparing and distributing the Commission's findings about these events to textbook publishers, educators and libraries.

5. The Commissioners, with the exception of Congressman Lungren, recommend that Congress establish a fund of which will provide personal redress to those who were excluded, as well as serve the purposes set out in Recommendation 4. Appropriations of $1.5 billion should be made to the fund over a reasonable period to be determined by Congress. This fund should be used, first, to provide a one-time per capita compensatory payment of $20,000 to each of the approximately 60,000 surviving persons excluded from their places of residence pursuant to Executive Order 9066. The burden should be on the government to locate survivors, without requiring any application for payment, and payments should be made to the oldest survivors first. After per capita payments, the remainder of the fund should be used for the public educational purposes discussed in Recommendation 4 as well as for the general welfare of the Japanese American community. This should be accomplished by grants for purposes such as aid to the elderly and scholarships for education, weighing, where appropriate, the effect of the exclusion and detention on the descendants of those who were detained. Individual payments in compensation for loss or damage should not be made.

The fund should be administered by a Board, the majority of whose members are Americans of Japanese descent appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The compensation of members of the Board should be limited to their expenses and per diem payments at accepted government rates.

The bill under consideration by this Subcommittee, H.R. 4110, provides for the acceptance and implementation of the findings and recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.

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Although the Majority Leader, the Majority Whip, the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, and the Chairman and the ranking Minority Member of this Judiciary Committee are among the lead sponsors of this remedial legislation, it is my understanding that Congressman Norman Mineta and his effective staff are responsible for the draft of this highly complicated and technical bill.

Since the Congressman himself is one of the two House members who were interned, it is understandable that he would be the principal draftsman of this measure which reflects the sensitivities and the aspirations of most of the evacuees. In my mind, only one who has personally experienced the agonies of those actions could have so carefully and so conscientiously crafted the bill to carry out the reasoned recommendations of the Commission.

The only other member to undergo the evacuation and its subsequent tragedies is Congressman Robert Matsui, an infant who I understand sustained an ear injury that afflicts him even today because of the lack of certain medical facilities is the primitive camp in which he and his family were imprisoned.

That more than a hundred members of the House of Representatives have joined thus far in co-sponsoring this bill indicates general support for this measure. Though it is relatively late in this congressional session, it is my hope that this Congress will approve this long overdue "act of national apology" and that the President will sign this nonpartisan and what should be a noncontroversial bill into law before this congressional and presidential election year is over. We would thus demonstrate for all the world to know that America continues to believe in the redemptive capabilities of our democracy and that the United States practices its beliefs in human rights even as we demand it of other governments and peoples.

Proposed Amendments

As the national Nisei veterans organization, we propose that the following amendments to H.R. 4110 be favorably considered:

I. Add to the term "eligible individual" in Section 201, Title II, (2) (C) was a member of the Armed Services on or before December 7, 1941, and was not "discharged for the convenience of the government" after that date, other provisions notwithstanding.

According to the Selective Service System Report for 1953, Special Groups, Special Monograph No. 10, Volume 1 Text, 3,188 citizens of Japanese ancestry were inducted in the period from November 1, 1940 to November 1, 1941. Following the outbreak of war, approximately one-half that number were discharged "for the convenience of the government". The remaining men, at the discretion of their field commanders, were allowed to remain in the Army but practically all were transferred to non-combat units, such as truck drivers, mechanics, supply outfits, logistical support organizations, medical corps, and even to such menial tasks as "permanent KP", latrine orderlies, and daily "policing" camp and various other areas. One such Army veteran remembers that he was ordered to pick up cigarette butts day after day and to remain in a crouching position at all times so that he could not look into the officers' quarters.

At Fort Riley, Kansas, when the President of the United States visited that camp, all of the Nisei GIs were herded into the motor pool and watched over by MPs carrying rifles at the ready. Most of these men were later volunteers for the 442nd.

At several other Army camps, Japanese American soldiers were humiliated in similar manner when their Commander-In-chief visited them.

Then, there were a number of individuals like Sergeant Ben Kuroki, who flew 50 missions as an Air Force gunner in both the European and Pacific Theaters, earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and other medals, but when

He got back to the airbase he dared not leave his tent lest some trigger-happy sentry shoot him for a spy. Even though it was against regulations, some Japanese Americans were accepted and served with honor in the air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard, much as Ben Kuroki, of Nebraska, did.

There are many stories about Nisei soldiers who returned to the Western Defense Command to see their parents prior to being sent overseas into combat. Though wearing the same uniform as their MP escorts, when they entered the concentration camps where their families were imprisoned, they were subject to a body search by armed MPs in the identical uniform they were wearing.

Then, there were a few Japanese Americans who could read, write, and speak Japanese well enough to become the first Nisei combat intelligence servicemen in training before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Subsequently, many were sent out as combat intelligence and performed so well under fire against the Japanese enemy that they were considered one of America's secret weapons in the Pacific.

Finally, there are the heroes of the 100th Infantry Battalion who were discharged after Pearl Harbor from their Hawaiian National Guard regiments, only to be recalled to active duty with probably what they made the most famed infantry battalion of all time, which later became the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

To my mind, no distinction should be made between these Nisei veterans and those of us who served after December 7, 1941. All should be "eligible individuals" as a matter of equity and fairness. Perhaps those persons are covered under the language of the legislation, but this amendment is now being proposed to make certain that they are.

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II. Section 205 (a) 1 should be amended to make clear that neither federal, state, or any other tax may be levied against this token restitution payment of $20,000.

This proposed amendment is required in order to avoid repetition of our experience with the 1948 Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act when the Internal Revenue Service attempted to collect taxes on those paltry, nominal payments. Only threatened congressional action prevented that miscarriage of justice.

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III. Section 205, 2 (b) should be so reworded that the Attorney General shall first make payments to eligible individuals who are, or soon will be, living in retirement and/or nursing homes, or other necessary medical facility, who lack adequate funds of their own to live out their lives in dignity, decently, and humanely, without regard to any limitation as to the amount they may receive, and then "in order of date of birth (with the oldest receiving full payment first), until all eligible individuals have received payments in full."

The compelling reasons for this amendment are self-evident in corrective legislation of this type, so we will not comment further except to note that the consequences of their wartime incarceration and the vicissitudes thereafter may have reduced their capabilities to survive in dignity and adequacy. After proud and useful lives, they should not now be forced to accept charity. Moreover, there should be no limitations on the amounts they may receive in total. No doubt in some cases the payments may exceed the maximum token $20,000 allocated individuals.

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IV. As an organization whose principal function may be an "educational" one, we are especially interested in Section 206 and its Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. We would urge that the Board of Directors of the Fund make its first disbursements to provide that the program identified below be appropriately funded:

(A) To establish and maintain in the Smithsonian Institution a permanent exhibit dedicated to the activation and the exploits of Japanese American volunteers in the 100th Infantry, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service.

An exhibit of this kind in the National Museum could be one of the most inspirational displays of American democracy, how in periods of hate and hysteria abuses of constitutional rights and privileges may occur but that, with men of courage, faith, and vision who are willing to fight to earn and retain these truths and virtues, there is the power within our democracy to correct and extend those qualities.

In 1942, thousands of young Japanese Americans, along with their families, were placed in American-style concentration camps, behind barbed wire fences and armed military police, suspect by their own government as to their loyalty. These young men, however, saw beyond the barbed wire fences and armed guards of their prison camps and visualized the kind of country that we had to have if all men were to be free. So, thousands of them volunteered not just for military service but for combat duty against the common enemies. Many were killed in action and many more wounded as they proved their right to enjoy American citizenship. And, some ten years later, they had not only earned greater opportunities for themselves and their posterity than they had ever before dreamed possible but had proved anew that democracy can and does correct its mistakes and errors.

That, in a nutshell is the kind of "Go For Broke" exhibit we would like to see developed and placed permanently in the National Museum for millions of other Americans to see and be inspired anew in their faith in their government.

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(B) To build an appropriate memorial monument on the Avenue of Heroes leading to Arlington National Cemetery so all Americans may see Japanese American heroes of World War II "Go For Broke" against the enemies of America in order that what happened to them may not have happen again to any individual or minority group here in the United States.

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(C) To create a permanent depository for the records, documents, artifacts, memorabilia, pictures, etc., of the men of the 100th, 442nd, and MIS so other generations of Americans can come to study the spirit and the motivations of these gallant young Americans of Japanese origin. Oral histories should be taped, and popular books and documentaries should be written about these young Americans. Portable exhibits should be produced and shown around the country at special events, libraries, schools, etc. A central archives, as it were, should be constructed and maintained to celebrate the achievements of these young Americans who, in spite of prejudice and discrimination unprecedented in our history, demonstrated such faith and vision that no other American individual or ethnic minority will ever again be tried summarily and arbitrarily, and imprisoned simply because of the accident of birth, or religion, or belief, or advocacy.

These museum exhibits, the heroic monument, and the depository should be maintained in perpetuity in order that Americans still unborn may be cheered

by these demonstrations of democracy at its worst and at its best. Accordingly, if currently provided funds are not sufficient, this Congress should authorize future Congresses to appropriate the necessary monies.

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Perhaps we are prejudiced as to what we and our buddies who couldn't come back with us after World War II accomplished to make ourselves better Americans, and our country a greater nation and world leader for freedom, justice, and peace for all mankind. But we are certain that ours is an experience unique in United States history and could be an heart-warming inspiration to other Americans, even in other times, to remember that what happened to us shall not happen to any one or group, again.

It is in this "Go For Broke" spirit for our beloved nation that we propose this "educational program" as the Number One priority for the Civil Liberties Education Fund of the Civil Liberties Act of 1983, more specifically identified as H.R. 4110.

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One hundred years ago this summer, in a nearby town called Gettysburg in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one of the greatest battles in the history of mankind took place. Later that fall, President Abraham Lincoln gave an eloquent and immortal charge to the nation that is as valid today as it was on November 19, 1883:

"It is for us, the living, to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave us their last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

It is for this purpose and in this faith that we who survived in the indignities and humiliation of incarceration by our own government and the shot and shell of the fascist enemies in Europe and the Pacific come to you today, Mr. Chairman, to ask that our belief in America be vindicated, and the pledge and promise of President Truman 38 years ago right here in Washington come true: "We have fought the enemy, and prejudice -- and we have won!"