Why Give: The Right to Be American

Imagine what it was like over sixty years ago in the dark days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Fear permeated Japanese-American communities as prejudice, hatred and distrust swirled all around them:

• December 1941: Martial law declared in Hawaii.
• January 1942, Japanese-Americans serving in the armed services in Hawaii were discharged without explanation and classified as "4-C, enemy alien."
• In June 1942, the US War Department announced that it would not "accept for service with the armed forces, Japanese or persons of Japanese extraction, regardless of citizenship status or other factors."
• Japanese-Americans on the Mainland were being shipped to internment camps in isolated communities throughout the US.

Yet, in early 1943 when given the chance to enlist, more than 10,000 Japanese-American men living in Hawaii volunteered to serve in a new, segregated unit of the US Amy.

Sixty years later, retired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki spoke to these men -- the Nisei veterans -- at the Center's November 2005 benefit dinner: I am, and all of us are, indebted to the men who were not much more than boys when they went and fought for us.  They earned back the birthright for all of us.  The right to live without fear of suspicion.  The right to choose what we wanted to do with our lives.  The right to enjoy the full privileges of being an American.  The right to compete.

The Nisei soldiers came home and dedicated their lives to building communities and giving the next generation opportunities they only dreamed of for themselves.

An Intergenerational Center: A Living Memorial

Our memorial center is an innovative "living and breathing" tribute, housing an Intergenerational Center, including an adult day care facility and a preschool. Each day there are shared activities between the youngsters and the seniors.

In addition, the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center will promote educational advocacy so that future generations will learn of their trials -- and how we as a nation are stronger because of their triumphs.

As President Harry S. Truman noted, "Keep up that fight, and we will continue to win - to make this great Republic stand for what the Constitution says it stands for: 'the welfare of all the people all the time.'"