Kazuo Masuda VFW Post 3670 Memorial Day

ABOVE: A 21-gun salute in honor of all fallen veterans at the VFW Post 3670 Kazuo Masuda Memorial Day program at Westminster Memorial Park. (Video, May 30, 2016 M. Urashima) © All rights reserved.

   Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach author and preservation task force chair, Mary Urashima, was asked to speak at the annual  Kazuo Masuda Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3670 program on Memorial Day.  It is an honor to be part of this day, recognizing the remarkable men and women fallen in their service to our country.  This event---which bears the name of Congressional Gold Medal and Distinguished Service Cross recipient Kazuo Masuda---honors, in particular, the Nisei soldiers of World War II and all service men and women who have fallen in the line of duty.

   An excerpt of her remarks:

   "...This is a chapter of our country’s history we are reminded of today, as we stand near the grave of Kazuo Masuda, whose family was incarcerated during the time of his service.  Four of the Masuda brothers served during World War II.  Kazuo was awarded posthumously in 1945 the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action.

RIGHT: Marvin Masuda (second from left) lays flowers at the grave of Kazuo Masuda, with his father, Masuo Masuda (center). Masuo Masuda is the brother of Kazuo Masuda and also a WWII veteran.  Both were Huntington Beach High School graduates. (Photo, M. Urashima, May 30, 2016, Westminster Memorial Park) © All rights reserved.

    On July 6, 1944, when his observation post became the target of heavy mortar and artillery fire, Staff Sergeant Masuda crawled 200 yards to the mortar section, secured a mortar tube and ammunition, and returned to the observation post.  

   Using his helmet as a base plate, he single-handedly directed fire at the enemy for 12 hours, repulsing two enemy counter-attacks.                         

   A month a half later, on August 27, 1944, he voluntarily led two men on a night patrol across the Arno River and through the heavily-mined and booby-trapped north bank.  Hearing movements, he ordered his men to cover him while he crawled forward. He discovered that they had been surrounded.   

   
   Kazuo Masuda ordered his men to withdraw while he engaged the enemy.  At the sacrifice of his life, he enabled them to escape.  Kazuo Masuda’s family would hear of his death, while confined at Gila River.

LEFT: A news clipping from 1945 announces the War Relocation Authority had taken "steps to end threats against a West Coast Japanese American girl who has four brothers with honorable army service records."  The article is paired with another article noting the reception received by a northern California Japanese American family attempting to return home after WWII confinement.  Acts of violence and vandalism toward Japanese Americans were widely reported and the return home was difficult, for those who chose to return to their prior home. Many lost their properties or chose not to return after WWII confinement.        

    
   The return of the Masuda family to Orange County in 1945 was not easy. Kazuo’s sister, Mary Masuda was confronted with threats of violence. Hearing this, the War Relocation Authority issued a national bulletin against such acts, reminding the public these were American families returning home. 

   
   General Joe Stillwell, determined to make a statement, traveled to the Masuda’s farmhouse in Talbert to present posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross.  It was on the front page of the Los Angeles Herald on December 9, 1945, and carried by the news reels of the day.  With General Stillwell, was a young Army captain, Ronald Reagan.

ABOVE: A Nisei military honor guard holding American flags flanks the entrance to the Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Church as the Masuda family departs the memorial service for Westminster Memorial Park in 1948. This was three years after leaving confinement at the Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona and three years after Mary Masuda confronted threats of violence during her attempt to return home to Orange County. (Photo snip courtesy of Dennis Masuda) © All rights reserved.  

   
   As a historian, I have written about the Masuda family’s story and the impact it had in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act.  He remembered the Masudas from that December day in 1945.  This was an American family, in the farm country of Orange County, whose story would resonate all the way to the White House.  

   
   It would be several years before Kazuo Masuda could be brought home to rest.  Finally, in 1948, the family and community were able to memorialize this hero who had walked on.   

   
   The funeral services were held with a full house in the Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Church with a Nisei military honor guard, before proceeding here, to the Westminster Memorial Park, to this place where we are today.   

   
   Looking at the photographs of that day, I am struck by the dignity, sadness and pride I see in the faces of those gathered to honor him.  It is what we feel here today. 

LEFT: The Congressional Gold Medal awarded posthumously to Kazuo Masuda and other Nisei soldiers of World War II. Kasuo Masuda is one of twelve Nisei soldiers featured in the Smithsonian Institute's 2016 digital exhibit, The Nisei Soldier: Congressional Gold Medal, http://cgm.smithsonianapa.org/ The Smithsonian explains, "This exhibition presents the extraordinary life stories of 12 Nisei soldiers who served in the US Armed Forces in World War II. While some had families in America’s concentration camps, all served with a highly uncommon and commendable sense of patriotism and honor. This is their American story."  

   
   The story of Kazuo Masuda continues to resonate seven decades after his death, as he is one of twelve Nisei soldiers featured in the Smithsonian Institute’s new exhibit on Congressional Gold Medal recipients, of whom Kazuo Masuda is one.    

   
   We gather on Memorial Day to remember those who have fallen during their service to our country, those who have walked on during the past two and a half centuries.  As is the nature of America, their service was not easy and not always understood.  Not all have received the hero’s welcome they deserve.

RIGHT: The Japanese American soldiers of World War II are one of the few military groups who have not been honored with a U.S. postal stamp, yet they remain the highest decorated units of all time. Learn more at Stamp Our Story, http://niseistamp.org/

   There are generations of soldiers and families of soldiers who have persevered when the political climate made that difficult.  We live in a time when manners and respect seems to have faded.

   This brings me back to what I was taught by my parents in my childhood.  It is the message conveyed by General Stillwell in 1945 and President Reagan in 1988.  It is still timely today, it is a message we still should be teaching our children, and the message I wish to close with.  

     
   On Memorial Day, we remember the fallen. Those who have walked on.  What we must remember is they walk past us every day.  Stand.  Show respect.  Cheer for them. Every day.  These are heroes."

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.   

Kazuo Masuda Memorial Day program, May 30

ABOVE: A photograph of SSgt. Kazuo Masuda in the foreground, an honor guard prepares for a salute at last year's Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Memorial Day Service at Westminster Memorial Park. (Photo, M. Urashima) © All rights reserved.

    Kazuo Masuda is one of twelve Nisei soldiers featured in the Smithsonian Institute's 2016 digital exhibit, The Nisei Soldier: Congressional Gold Medal, http://cgm.smithsonianapa.org/  He was awarded posthumously both the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945 and, more recently, the Congressional Gold Medal. 

    Kazuo Masuda is honored each year at the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Memorial Day Service at Westminster Memorial Park, Orange County, California.  This year, Historic Wintersburg will be part of the program, with comments by the preservation task force chair Mary Urashima.

   The Masuda family are part of the history of the Wintersburg Mission, congregants who traveled from their farm in Talbert (Fountain Valley) to attend services and carnivals on the Furuta farm.  One of the Masuda descendants serves on the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force, providing first-hand historical insight for the efforts to save a National Treasure historical place.  This family's history is one of the reasons Historic Wintersburg is considered nationally significant.  It is part of the history that we work to preserve for future generations.

RIGHT: From a traveling exhibit held at a veterans' organization in Maui, Hawaii, in 2014, an image of General Joe Stillwell presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Mary Masuda, on behalf of Kazuo Masuda, on the steps of the Masuda family farm house in Talbert, December 1945. (Photo, M. Urashima) © All rights reserved.

    The Masuda family history is linked to one of our country's monumental civil liberties moments: the authorization of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, during which President Ronald Reagan talks specifically about the Masuda family and the heroics of SSgt. Kazuo Masuda, of the "Go For Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Company F.  Their story can be found here: http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2012/06/masudas-national-civil-liberties-icons.html
 

LEFT: The Los Angeles Herald featured General Joe Stillwell's visit to the Masuda family on their front page. Newsreel media covered the event, at which a young Army captain--Ronald Reagan--accompanied Gen. Stillwell, to present posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross. (Image, Los Angeles Herald, December 9, 1945)

   Four of the Masuda brothers served in the U.S. military during World War II, while their family remained incarcerated, first at the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas, later at the Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona.  Gensuke Masuda, the family patriarch and a farmer in Talbert, was taken and interrogated by the FBI the night of the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor.  He had been in America for over 40 years.  

   Seen as a community leader for his involvement with the Wintersburg Japanese Mission and due to his success as a farmer, Gensuke Masuda's hard work and efforts to establish his family in America now moved against him.  Kazuo Masuda--already in the U.S. Army--wrote letters on behalf of his father, asking for his release and noting his father's devotion to America, "I believe he has done his part in making it the great nation that we are."

   Killed in action in Italy, in 1944, it would take several years before Kazuo Masuda would come home to rest. Finally, in 1948, the family and community were able to memorialize a hero who had walked on.  The funeral services were held with a full house in the Wintersburg Japanese Church with a Nisei military honor guard and Japanese American clergy, before proceeding to the Westminster Memorial Park.   Those in attendance knew of the long, painful journey by the Masuda family.  Many had shared the same journey.

   In 1988, President Ronald Reagan would remember Kazuo Masuda and his family, remarking, "America stands unique in the world, the only country not founded on race, but ...an ideal. Not in spite of, but because of our polyglot background, we have had all the strength in the world. That is the American way."

ABOVE: The funeral procession for Kazuo Masuda in 1948, enroute to the Westminster Memorial Park. Originally prohibited from burial in an area with grass and trees due to "restrictive covenants" which barred persons who were not of Caucasian ancestry, public pressure on behalf of the hero reversed the Park's decision. The annual Memorial Day service is held near his grave. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Masuda) © All rights reserved.

  On Monday, Memorial Day 2016, we remember and honor Kazuo Masuda and those who have fallen during their service to our country. We honor their families, who--even in the best of times--must bear the absence and loss of loved ones.  We reflect on the sacrifice of generations of Americans. 

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.  

Stamp Our Story: A ten-year effort to gain recognition of the Nisei veterans of WWII

   Stamp Our Story is an effort to gain a United States commemorative postage stamp honoring the service and contributions of the Japanese Americans who served in the U.S. Army during World War II.  This has been a decade-long campaign.

   Japanese American World War II veterans are among the most highly-decorated military groups in American history. Over 33,000 served during World War II.  Over 18,000 medals. Over 9000 Purple Hearts. Thirty Distinguished Service Crosses. Twenty-one Medals of Honor. 

   These men served in the "Go For Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion, Military Intelligence Service (MIS), and the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, who---as is now known---helped liberate Dachau.  They served during a time when their families were incarcerated in camps and detention stations around the United States, due to their ancestry.

   Among those who would be honored, are veterans in Orange County and veterans associated with the Wintersburg Mission, for which there are Medal of Honor recipients and nominees.  

LEFT: Wintersburg Mission congregant, Huntington Beach High School alumni and son of Talbert (Fountain Valley) farmers, Kazuo Masuda with the
442nd Regimental Combat Team (fourth from left, front row). Photograph courtesy of The442nd.org

   The associated history with Historic Wintersburg also includes a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, presented posthumously to the family of Kazuo Masuda at a farmhouse in Talbert by General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell with then-Army Captain Ronald Reagan.  This moment in American history was remembered by President Ronald Reagan when he signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, with Masuda family members and Wintersburg Mission congregant Clarence Nishizu present at the signing.

LEFT: Kazuo Masuda Memorial Day ceremony, 2015, at Westminster Memorial Park.  He is honored locally with a VFW Post, a school named after him, and on memorials in front of Huntington Beach City Hall and in the historic auditorium at Huntington Beach High School.  Kazuo Masuda was killed in action in Italy during WWII. (Photograph, M. Urashima, 2015). © All rights reserved.

   Not many of the Nisei veterans of World War II will see this stamp.  The effort to gain this recognition over the past decade has seen the loss of many of these veterans.  But, their families can finally see a stamp honoring their contribution and sacrifice.

   Among the United States Postal Service stamps, there are stamps recognizing civil rights history and leadership, stamps recognizing heritage months, stamps recognizing American Samoa, and Hawaiian icons like Duke Kahanamoku.  There are stamps celebrating the Lunar New Year.  Try a Google search for U.S. postal stamps for Japanese Americans and the search comes up with one collection issued in 2004 for artist and sculptor Isamu Noguchi.

RIGHT: U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamps issued in 2004 for sculptor, landscape architect, and theatrical and industrial designer, Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988).  The "California Scenario" sculpture plaza in Costa Mesa was designed by Noguchi.  What is less known is that Noguchi--who was biracial--wrote directly to President Franklin D. Roosevelt prior to the authorization of Executive Order 9066, asking him not to violate the civil rights of American citizens of Japanese descent.  Noguchi was an anti-fascist advocate and---although not legally required---voluntarily went to the Colorado River Relocation Center in hopes of teaching art to those in confinement. (Source, U.S. Postal Service)

   With the arrival in American a century and a half ago, there still are no stamps honoring the larger history of Americans of Japanese descent, let alone the Nisei veterans. 

LEFT: Japanese American pioneer farmers on the Irvine Ranch in Orange County, California, circa 1920s.  The first Japanese arrived on the West Coast in the mid 19th Century---at the time of the California Gold Rush---and in rural Orange County by 1900. (Snip courtesy of California State University-Fullerton Center for Oral and Public History) © All rights reserved.

There are stamps honoring other American pioneer history---those who crossed the country by wagon---but no stamps recognizing those who crossed the Pacific Ocean with the rich history and imagery of Japanese American pioneer settlement of the American West.  

   There are stamps rightfully honoring African American "Buffalo Soldiers" of the U.S. Cavalry, but not the "Go For Broke" soldiers of the U.S. Army.  Stamps honor the civil rights movement in the southern part of America and civil rights leaders, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.  There are no civil rights stamps with the faces of Japanese Americans---like Todd Endo, who marched at Selma, Alabama's Bloody Sunday in 1965---yet Japanese Americans also have a civil rights story on the West Coast.   

   There are no stamps honoring those who fought and overturned the Alien Land Laws faced by Japanese American pioneers in the 20th Century, such as California attorney and journalist Sei Fujii.  There are no stamps honoring the resilience and gaman of the 120,000 Japanese Americans who lost their civil rights and were unjustly incarcerated during WWII.  There are no stamps for those who stood for Japanese American civil rights during that time, like Gordon Hirabayashi or Fred Korematsu.  There is no stamp for the Civil Rights Act of 1988, signed by President Ronald Reagan.

RIGHT: The guard watch tower at Manzanar National Historic Site in California's Owens Valley.  Manzanar was one of the ten major incarceration camps for 120,000 Japanese Americans, the majority United States citizens. (Photograph, M. Urashima, 2015) © All rights reserved.

   There is no stamp for Ellison Onizuka, the first Japanese American astronaut, who lost his life on board the Space Shuttle Challenger.  There is no stamp for the first Japanese American congressional representative, Daniel Inouye.  There is no stamp for the first Japanese American mayor of a U.S. city in 1957, James Kanno, a Wintersburg Mission congregant and Fountain Valley, California's first mayor.

   With no stamps honoring the pioneer settlement, civil rights and achievements of Japanese Americans, there is, of course, no stamp for the few remaining Japanese American historic places that survived the past century.  There is no stamp for the iconic Little Tokyo, the Harada House, or for the early 1900s goldfish farms of Wintersburg Village.

   A stamp honoring the Nisei veterans of World War II is a step toward including the history of Americans of Japanese descent in the larger story of America.  As Stamp Our Story explains that while "it is just a tiny rectangular piece of paper" it is "huge in its impact.  It will be preserved and remembered as an iconic image which will last through the ages...We believe that if the Postal Service can churn out multiple stamps for fictional cartoon and movie characters, it can issue at least ONE stamp for these real American heroes."

   One hundred thousand signatures are needed by March 20 to get a petition requesting a stamp honoring Nisei veterans on the President's desk.  It takes only a moment to honor those who put their lives at risk in defense of America, while their families were confined.

Go to http://www.stampourstory.org/ for more information.  

The online petition can be found and signed in a few seconds at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/get-postmaster-general-honor-story-japanese-american-world-war-ii-veterans-commemorative-stamp

Publication 528 of the U.S. Postal Service shares the current stamps relating to "Veterans and the Military on Stamps", https://about.usps.com/publications/pub528.pdf

More about Kazuo Masuda, President Ronald Reagan and the Masuda family story at http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2012/06/masudas-national-civil-liberties-icons.html 

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.

Memorial Day 2015: Kazuo Masuda remembered

 

ABOVE: The "Go For Broke" 442nd, the highest decorated military unit in history. Kazuo Masuda can be seen in the center of the front row, fourth from left.  He was a Huntington Beach High School graduate, born in Orange County, California, and the Masuda family were congregants of the Wintersburg Mission.  (Photo courtesy of www.the442nd.org) 

~Updated June 8, 2015~

  Kazuo Masuda and the Nisei who served in the U.S. military were remembered at a Memorial Day ceremony at Westminster Memorial Park.  The Masuda family story is important nationally, as this is the family specifically mentioned by President Ronald Reagan when he signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.  

   Kazuo Masuda will be one of three Nisei soldiers whose story will be featured in the upcoming Congressional Gold Medal Digital Exhibition by the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American History.   

   Congregants of the Wintersburg Mission and farmers in Talbert (Fountain Valley), the Masuda family story can be found at http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2012/06/masudas-national-civil-liberties-icons.html

   The following is a transcript of the speech presented by Dennis Masuda, Huntington Beach, California, a descendant of Kazuo Masuda and member of the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force:

"Hate, discrimination, prejudice.  On this day, we should be talking about honor, sacrifice and heroes.  So let us talk about both.

Uncle Kaz, a man I never met but I know well.  Here is his story, the story of the Masudas, and the strong-willed Masuda women.

Kazuo Masuda, staff sergeant, #39168362.

Born November 30, 1918, about a mile from here in Westminster, California, he was one of 11 children born to Gensuke and Tamae Masuda.

A graduate of Fountain Valley Elementary School  in 1932 (Note: Fountain Valley was still known as Talbert at that time) and Huntington Beach Union High School in 1936.  Football, track, swimming and basketball.  He was only 5’4”!

ABOVE: Orange County-born Staff Sergeant Kazuo Masuda, a member of the "Go For Broke" 442nd, killed in action in Italy during World War II.
(Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

RIGHT: The honor guard prepares for the Memorial Day recognition of Kazuo Masuda, organized by the Kazuo Masuda VFW Post 3670. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

When I was about five, I remember my Dad and Uncle Mas looking through a picture album. I saw pictures of the family when everyone was much younger.  Then there was a picture of Uncle Kaz. Who was that I asked?  It was explained to me he was my uncle and that he died in the war.  At five years old, you really don’t have a concept about death or war.

LEFT: Dennis Masuda (left) with David Ono, anchorman with KABC-7 in Los Angeles, who also spoke at the Memorial Day event.
(Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.
 

I also noticed pictures of the family at places I didn’t recognize.  It was explained to me that it was at a camp in Arkansas.  I remember thinking my family went camping at a tar paper garage in Arkansas?  It wasn’t until years later that I found out what camp actually meant.  (Editor's note: This reference is for the Jerome Relocation Center in southeastern Arkansas.  The Masudas later were sent to the Gila River camp in Arizona.)

On October 17, 1941, Uncle Kaz was drafted into the military. Because of his dark skin, his buddies gave him the nickname, 'Arab,' which wouldn’t be a great nickname if serving today.

While training at Fort Ord, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened.  Then the discrimination began even in the military.  He was passed over for the signal corps because he was of Japanese descent.

RIGHT: The honor guard stands ready, preparing for the Memorial Day recognition at the grave site of Kazuo Masuda.  Many of the Wintersburg Village's Japanese pioneer families are nearby, due to last century's segregation at the cemetery. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

Right after Pearl Harbor, my grandfather as well as thousands of other Issei were rounded up and detained for months before being returned to their families.

February 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 was signed and the internment process began.

LEFT: David Ono (left), KABC-7 anchorman, stands with Masuo Masuda, the brother of Kazuo Masuda.  Masuo Masuda--also a Huntington Beach High School graduate--served in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as a translator during World War II. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

For Japanese Americans, they were about to fight two wars: one against the Axis Powers in Europe, and the other, hate, discrimination and prejudice at home.

Many young Japanese American men volunteered for military duty.  If you look at the Japanese situation, they had to volunteer to fight because if they didn’t, there would have been a lot of fingers pointing and people saying they didn’t care about America.

Uncle Kaz said in a letter, “I and the rest of the combat team know what we are fighting for.  It is for us, our future in America.”

It was as the Japanese say, “for the sake of the children.” 

Uncle Kaz was a risk taker, according to his comrades.  On one occasion, he stopped an attack and forced the advancing troops to retreat with him just using a mortar on a midnight patrol on August 27, 1944.  Uncle Kaz encountered a German machine gun at a distance of six feet.  He opened fire with his Thompson sub machine gun while two of his comrades escaped.  This was Uncle Kaz’s last stand.

A few days later, on September 1, they found his body.  His buddies recalled Uncle Kaz always said, “Not a step back.  Never, you can’t win by going backward.”

RIGHT: The wreath placed by the Kazuo Masuda VFW Post 3670 at the grave site of Kazuo Masuda at Westminster Memorial Park. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

On September 11, 1944, the dreaded Western Union telegram arrived at the relocation camp in Arkansas.  “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret that your son, Staff Sgt. Kazuo Masuda, was killed in action on 27^th August in Italy.”

But, the war didn’t end there for the Masudas.  Uncle Takashi was still in Italy.  Uncle Mas was in military intelligence ready for the invasion of Japan as an interpreter.   Victory in Europe came in 1945 and victory over Japan came in August.  But for the Japanese Americans, the war on hate, discrimination and prejudice was not yet won.

The next battle was fought by Aunt Mary.  She was bullied not to return to their home in Talbert.  But she held fast and returned September of 1945.  A victory for Aunt Mary and the Masuda women.

In December 1945, General Joseph Stillwell came to the farmhouse in what is now Fountain Valley and presented the Distinguished Service Cross to my Aunt Mary.  There was also a rally at the Santa Ana Bowl and a fortuitous meeting with a young captain named Ronald Reagan.  My grandmother refused to take the medal from General Stillwell, but did accept it from my Aunt Mary.  Another little victory for the Masuda women. 

LEFT: An avenue lined with American flags at Westminster Memorial Park. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

Uncle Kaz had one more battle to fight.  His body was returned stateside on November 9, 1948.  When the request for him to be buried at Westminster (memorial park), they said he would have to be buried in a dirt area in the far corner of the cemetery because it was a Caucasian cemetery.  Amid protests from various groups, the cemetery relented and he was buried here.  At that time, it was still away from the main cemetery.  If you look around, you’ll see many Japanese surnames here.  How ironic is it that now this spot is right near the middle.

When President Reagan was thinking about signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and the redress to compensate the Japanese Americans, it was my Aunt June who wrote a letter to President Reagan reminding him about his speech some 43 years earlier at the Santa Ana Bowl and about Uncle Kaz.

RIGHT: President Ronald Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Present at the signing was a member of the Masuda family and Clarence Nishizu, another Wintersburg Mission congregant who had worked for the passage of the Act. (AP photo)

In that speech he said, 'Blood that has soaked into the sands is all one color. America stands unique in the world, the only country not founded on race, but in a way, an ideal.'  The President soon signed the bill after getting Aunt June’s letter.  Another victory for a Masuda woman.

LEFT: The military guard stands in respect, as the crowd gathers for the Memorial Day event. The guard provided a 21-gun salute during the ceremony for Kazuo Masuda, held in the cemetery that had segregated his burial in 1948, when his body was returned home. (Photograph, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © All rights reserved.

About every 20-30 years, hate, discrimination and prejudice has a new victim in America.  In the 1860s, it was the Chinese; the 1880s, it was the Irish; the 1900s saw the Italians as victims; the 1940s, it was the Japanese.  Mid ‘70s to ‘80s, it was the Vietnamese and after September 11, 2001, anyone from the Middle East or that believed in Islam felt the wrath.  After 9/11, the familiar calls to send them back or round them up and incarcerate them were heard again.

Hate, discrimination, prejudice.  If we don’t get rid of these, the next group that may be targeted could be yours.

Thank you for listening and for being such great Americans."

RIGHT: Dennis Masuda (right) with Gloria Alvarez, who also attended the Memorial Day event.  Both are members of the Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force and alumni of Huntington Beach High School--at Historic Wintersburg in January 2013. (Photograph, M. Urashima, January 21, 2013) © All rights reserved.

READ: Feature on the VFW Post 3670 Kazuo Masuda Memorial Day ceremony in Rafu Shimpo, http://www.rafu.com/2015/06/a-soldiers-story/  

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   Our appreciation to Dennis Masuda for sharing his remarks and for his ongoing insight and support for the Historic Wintersburg preservation effort.  The Masuda family story and their role in President Reagan's signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 is part of the history represented by Historic Wintersburg, which if preserved, can be shared in a tangible way with future generations.

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.