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TI: So you have this time period, so 1982-83, you have this report, the final bill wasn't signed 'til 1988. So what was happening in that time period?

NM: Well, first of all, we had to take the commission report, and Glen again went through that thing I don't know how many times. His wife Kitty told me he'd go to bed with the commission report. Said, "He didn't go to bed with me, he went to bed with the committee report, commission report." And he just poured over that thing and poured over it, and then translated that commission report into legislative language, working with the legislative counsel's office in the House of Representatives, talking to the American Bar Association. I mean, Glen just did a tremendous job in putting that thing together. And so we had the elements of the bill, and so again, we had to line up the co-sponsors, and it went to Jim Wright, and by that time, Jim Wright was the majority leader in the House. And generally the majority leader in the House does not co-sponsor any legislation. And he said, "Norm, this is an exception and I'm going to be associated with this." So he said, "Put me as the lead sponsor." So we then introduced it in that Congress. And then, legislation expires every two years, so in the new Congress, we then had to reintroduce the bill. And so I went to the House parliamentarian, and I said, "I want to put H.R. 442 as the number of this bill, so how do I do that?"

TI: How did you get that idea? That's such a...

NM: Well, you can't reserve a number, but what you have to do is to drop the bill in about the time that the bill will come up and then as they stamp these bills, that'll get the number 442. So I went to the House parliamentarian, and I said, "Charlie, when should I drop this bill in, 'cause I want 442." Told him the significance of the Regimental Combat Team and everything, and I said, "I want to get 442 on this bill." So he said, "Well, wait about ten days, and then I'll tell you when to drop the bill in. And then as it comes through, I'll just hold it back and make sure we get 442." So Charlie Johnson was the House parliamentarian and he's the one who helped me get the number 442 on that bill. And then after that we, it took eight years to get it passed, so every two years I'd have to drop the bill in at the proper time get H.R. 442 in the succeeding Congresses for that legislation.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Japanese American National Museum. All Rights Reserved.