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National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV)
National American Indian Veterans Inc
The National Coalition for
Homeless Veterans (NCHV)
The National Coalition for
Homeless Veterans (NCHV) will end
homelessness among veterans by shaping
public policy, promoting collaboration, and
building the capacity of service providers.
The National
Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) — a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by
a 13-member board of directors — is the
resource and technical assistance center for
a national network of community-based
service providers and local, state and
federal agencies that provide emergency and
supportive housing, food, health services,
job training and placement assistance, legal
aid and case management support for hundreds
of thousands of homeless veterans each year.
http://www.nchv.org
Japanese American Veterans' Association, Inc.
JAVA is a fraternal, patriotic,
educational and historical organization with the purposes of
preserving and strengthening comradeship among its members,
perpetuating the memory and history of our departed
comrades, maintaining true allegiance to the Government of
the United States of America, upholding its Constitution and
Laws, and maintaining and extending the institutions of
American freedom, and independently and in concert with
other veterans organizations, striving to obtain for
veterans, reservists, active duty military personnel and
their families full benefit of their rightful entitlements
as veterans.
The Japanese American Veterans'
Association, Inc. (JAVA), a non-profit Section 501(c) 19
veterans' organization, was incorporated in 1992 under the
laws of the State of Maryland.
Click on the
Article below to access it
RARE EXPERIENCE FOR
FIVE NISEI IN WW II.
NJAMF HONORS AFRICAN
AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, US SENATOR, AND PHILIPPINE
SCOUTS
FOURTH GENERATION
JAPANESE AMERICAN DISCUSSES COMBAT EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ
ASIAN AMERICAN
CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL SECURITY RECOGNIZED BY WHITE HOUSE
THREE
ASIAN AMERICAN VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAM
AT KOREAN MEMORIAL TO COMMEMORATE KOREAN ARMISTICE
MARTY HIGGINS, AGE 90,
IN CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH. REFLECTIONS OF A FRIEND
PICTURE OF US-JAPANESE SOLDIER
JAPANESE AMERICAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21,
2006
RARE EXPERIENCE FOR FIVE NISEI IN WW
II. DIXIE MISSION BROUGHT NISEI IN HISTORIC ASSOCIATION
WITH RANKING CHINESE COMMUNIST LEADERS IN CAVES OF YAN’AN,
CHINA.
By
Japanese American Veterans Association
Washington, D.C. This is a story of five Americans of
Japanese descent, Nisei, who were members of the US Army
Observer Group, nicknamed the Dixie Mission, which would
turn out to be a rare historical event in World War II.
These Nisei were assigned to the Chinese Communist
headquarters in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province, China, where they
rubbed shoulders with Communist leaders such as Mao Zedong
and Zhou Enlai. This was the first official US government
contact with the Chinese Communists.
On July
22, 1944, eighteen American military, diplomatic and
intelligence personnel arrived by plane in Yan’an, where
they were met planeside by Zhou, the Number 2 leader in the
Communist hierarchy, and escorted to their quarters, which
were caves dug in the steep hillsides. Within this
contingent were Sho Nomura and George
Itsuo
Nakamura. They would be followed in the Fall of
1944 by Koji Ariyoshi, a psychological warfare (psywar)
specialist, and in August 1945, soon after the Pacific War
ended, by Jack Togo Ishii and Toshi
Uesato. The Dixie Mission
was withdrawn on July 24, 1946.
In 1934,
in order to avoid the threat of annihilation by the
Nationalist Government forces, the Chinese Communists
decided on a strategic retreat, to include an incredible
5,000 mile trek from southeastern China marching west and
then north to an arid, desolate mountainous region in
northwest China called Yan’an, a place they judged was
defensible. It would take them one year on foot through
difficult terrain, fighting off armies of the government and
warlords and enduring fatigue and disease. This “Long
March,” which started with nearly 100,000 men and women and
ended with 20,000, became the Chinese Communist symbol for
“strength and resilience”.
Like the
local folks of Yan’an, whose town was bombed by the
Japanese, the Communists dug short tunnels on the steep
hillsides. Each tunnel resembled a cave and was about 15
feet in length with grey brick flooring; the front had a
door and window in wooden frame. Thin white paper
substituted for glass panes to let sunlight in. Charcoal
braziers were used in the winter for heating. There were
rows upon rows of these tunnels.
Colonel
David D. Barrett, Commander of the Mission, in his book,
Dixie Mission, said the US Government’s objective was to
get the Communists and the governing Nationalists under
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek to form a coalition to fight
the Japanese. The ancillary goals were to collect military
intelligence on the Japanese forces, obtain assistance to
rescue downed airmen in enemy territory, arrange for
American POW’s escape from Japanese POW camps, obtain
meteorological information vitally needed for Allied air
operations, and collect information on Communist
personalities and insights on its strength. The Communists
welcomed the contact because they perceived they had lots to
gain: political recognition from a major world power,
communications equipment for real time contact between
Yan’an and its expanding territories, arms, ammunition and
cash.
Koji
Ariyoshi told his son Roger that the Communists shared their
caves with the Americans, adding a rough table, plain wooden
chairs, a makeshift bed, a stand for an enameled wash-basin,
and a rack for towels. There was no electricity and light
was by tallow candles. They also provided standard Chinese
cuisine for which Colonel Barrett, who spoke impeccable
Chinese as the result of 23 years residence in China,
offered to pay but that Zhou declined. Communist leaders
frequently took their meals with the Americans at the
Group’s mess. The Communists also assigned two cadres to
serve the Americans: Huang Hua and Ling Qing, who would
later become Foreign Minister and Representative to United
Nations, respectively. Chinese Communists also provided
medical attention.
The
Communists supported the Group enthusiastically and assigned
a counterpart to each American specialist. Zhou and
General Ye Jianying were the principal contacts with Colonel
Barrett and Mao Zedong was always accessible. The
communists also provided entertainment on Saturday evenings
at their headquarters with dances, Chinese food and drinks.
Barrett, in his book, said Mao was nearly always present and
relaxed and would dance with the first woman cadre who
asked, “Chairman, would you dance with me?”
US
Presidential Envoy Major General Patrick J. Hurley and his
successor, General George C. Marshall, who both visited
Yan’an, were unsuccessful in getting the Communists and the
Nationalists to form a coalition in the war against Japan.
As a result, relations at the policy level became cool
though the working level relations were substantively
effective and cordial.
Nomura’s
and Nakamura’s, and, later Ishii’s and Uesato’s, assignment
was to collect military intelligence through interrogation
of Japanese prisoners of war who surrendered to the Chinese
Communists. There were about 150 of them assigned as
students of the Farmers and Peasants School, where they were
under indoctrination to become communists, or members of the
Emancipation League, which created propaganda material
targeted at Japanese troops in China. The Nisei had
unimpeded access to the prisoners, who provided valuable
intelligence. They also worked with Susumu Okano, known
in Japan as Sanzo Nozaka, head of the Japan Communist Party
who escaped from Japan in the early 1930’s to the Soviet
Union and finally to China. Nozaka was responsible for the
POWs. After the war Nozaka returned to Japan to lead the
JCP. The Nisei met socially with Mao, Zhou and other
communist leaders and found them friendly and accessible.
Nakamura
did not attend the Mission Christmas party because he was on
an urgent rescue mission of a downed US pilot, Lt. John
Wood. Nakamura described to his daughter, Aileen,
how this mission came about: On November 16, 1944,
accompanied by Chinese interpreters and a few Red Army
soldiers, Nakamura traveled by horse, mule and on foot to
“Shu-mu-lu, Xai Lin, and Liu-chai-wan”, as listed in John
Colling’s book, Spirit of Yenan, to interrogate newly
captured Japanese soldiers. [Pinyin spelling not
readily available.] On December 12, he received orders to
return to Yan’an. However, later that day, he received word
that a US pilot had crashed nearby. He was ordered to
continue to gather intelligence and at the same time to
ensure that Wood would be returned to safety.”
Aileen
said “Wood had arrived on a stretcher at the Communist
Regional Headquarters on December 21. Nakamura recalls it
took much inspection of his US uniform, speaking American
slang, and talking about baseball back home for Wood to
trust him as an American soldier who could get him to
safety. The two awaited transport for days, but when none
arrived on Christmas Day, the Chinese cheered up the
homesick Americans by preparing a special meal, followed by
Christmas carols led by students from Yen Ching University.
Finally, on December 29, they received word that no plane
was available so they began their journey back to Yan’an the
way Nakamura had arrived.”
According
to Roger Ariyoshi of Honolulu, Hawaii, his father, Koji,
said he held extensive meetings with Nozaka at his cave,
located about four miles from the Observer Group, to obtain
Nozaka’s insights on American propaganda leaflets and
material that were used against the Japanese troops. Also,
Ariyoshi’s instructions were to evaluate the effectiveness
of Nozaka’s propaganda efforts. Ariyoshi won the confidence
of Mao, Zhou, Zhu De, Xiong Guangkei and other Communist
leaders and met with them informally even after top-level
relationship became strained.
Roger said
his father told him Major General Albert C. Wedemeyer,
Commander of US Forces in the China Theater, summoned him to
Chongquing, the wartime capital of China, to discuss, among
other things, Chinese Communist leadership and their
military capability. Ariyoshi also briefed General Hurley
and General Marshall in Yan’an and Chongquing. At the same
time, Zhou sought Ariyoshi’s help in passing messages to US
authorities. Ariyoshi is the only Japanese American who
had substantive dealings in China with senior political
officials of the US and Chinese Communists.
Ariyoshi
visited China in June 1971, when the Honolulu Star
Bulletin engaged him as a Special Correspondent. He had
a four hour private interview with Zhou. Ariyoshi’s
articles in January 1972 preceded President Richard Nixon’s
visit by a month.
During the
post war period the Dixie Mission veterans and families made
two visits to China, the first was in March 1978 when they
visited a number of cities, including Yan’an, where they saw
their compound, which has since been converted to a boys’
middle school. Nomura and Nakamura were on this tour with
their wives. The second visit was in May 1991 that included
Nomura and Nakamura and daughter, Aileen. Their host
arranged tours to major cities, provided mementos of their
wartime association and a lavish banquet hosted by the Vice
President of the Republic at the Great Hall in Beijing.
The five
Nisei had varied backgrounds and following the War pursued
different career paths. All five attended Japanese language
schools in their youths. Nakamura (82), a resident of
Pearland, Texas, was born in Arroyo Grande, California and
was interned with his family at Gila River, Arizona, one of
ten such internment camps in desolate locations in the US.
He enlisted in November 1942 and was sent to the MIS
Language School at Camp Savage, located 17 miles from
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following basic training at Camp
Shelby, Nakamura was sent to India and then to Chongquing,
where in July 1944 he was assigned to the Dixie Mission.
Nakamura celebrated his 21st birthday at Yan’an
and still remembers his dance with Mrs. Mao Zedong, who
along with other Communists attended the party.
In June
1945, Nakamura, a Bronze Star awardee, received a direct
commission to 2nd Lieutenant. He left the Dixie
Mission in August 1945 to return to Chongquing. He then
served as an interrogator/translator at the Indo China
border and subsequently was on Occupation duty in Japan. He
resigned his commission in 1949 and attended Columbia
University from which he received a Masters in International
Relations in 1954. He then became the Rayovac Corporation
General Manager for Asia for the next 30 years. He is
married and has a son, daughter and two grandchildren
Nomura (87), a resident of Sierra
Madre, California volunteered in November 1942 for the MIS
Language School at Camp Savage. His first interrogation duty
was unusual for Nomura. He recounted: “What a surprise!!
I had envisioned that the POWs would be incarcerated in a
camp surrounded by barbed wire, sentry towers, security
guards and all that. Not
so! The so-called POWs had their own compound and their
living quarters which were caves. They were free to go to
“downtown Yan’an” or wherever they so desired in the
vicinity unescorted.”
Nomura had
his appendix removed in Yan’an by Ma Haide, the Communist
physician’s Chinese name for George Hatem, whose parents
immigrated to the US from Lebanon. Dixie Mission held a
Christmas party that was attended by over thirty Communist
Party members, including Mao and Zhou, and their wives.
Nomura prepared a guest list and had the participants sign
their names. The original of this guest list is Nomura’s
cherished memento of his Dixie Mission duty. Nomura left
Yan’an in September 1945, for assignment in Indo-China. The
following year he was assigned to Japan, where he served in
the Occupation for five years as a translator. During this
time, he and a group of Nisei met with Nozaka at a Japanese
teahouse. “It was an opportunity for reunion with an old
friend,” Nomura said. The Nomuras have five children and
five grandchildren.
Ariyoshi
was born and raised on a coffee farm in Kona, Hawaii. He
worked as a laborer at a sugar plantation, a pineapple
cannery and on a sugar beet farm in Idaho, as a longshoreman
on the docks of Honolulu and San Francisco, and as a
journalist. After he obtained a college degree from
University of Georgia, he settled in California and then
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He was incarcerated at the
Manzanar Internment Center, California. This background
and his view of the hardships endured by his parents, other
plantation workers, and the African Americans in America’s
Deep South caused him to sympathize with the downtrodden.
In December 1942 Ariyoshi enlisted
and trained at the MIS Language School at Camp Savage.
Following his graduation, he joined the Office of War
Information, led a 10-man psywar team to New Delhi, India.
In June 1944, he was deployed to Burma, where he was picked
to serve on the Dixie Mission. He could not overcome his
joy when he arrived at Yan’an, because only five years
before he organized collection programs in Hawaii to help
the children of Yan’an. Ariyoshi spent 18 months in Yan’an,
October 1944 to March 1946. He passed away on October 23,
1976 at age 62. He is survived by a son, Roger, and five
granddaughters.
When
Uesato, 82, of Waipahu, Oahu, and now a resident of San
Jose, California, volunteered for but was not accepted for
duty in the 442nd RCT, he volunteered for the
MIS. After graduating from the MIS language school at Camp
Savage, he was assigned to the Mars Task Force, successor to
Merrill’s Marauders, in Burma. Like the Marauders, a
special forces unit, the Mars Task Force participated in the
Northern Burma campaign to reopen the Burma Road, the
lifeline to supply war materiel to China. After assignments
in Indo China and China, he was sent to Japan for Occupation
duty, where he would serve from 1946 - 1947. One day,
Uesato visited the Japan Communist Party headquarters in
Tokyo for a cordial surprise reunion with Nozaka.
After
receiving his BA and MA degrees from the University of
Michigan, Uesato sought a career at the US Department of
Housing and Urban Development . He is married, has a son,
daughter and a grandchild.
Ishii (84
when he passed away on February 1, 2006) was born in Fresno,
California. He was interned at the Jerome, Arkansas
internment center from where he enlisted in 1943 for the
MIS. Ishii learned his Japanese from his mother, a Japanese
language teacher, and from the MIS Language School. He
held the rank of Master Sergeant. Following his discharge
from the Army, Ishii worked in the printing business for 30
years. After his retirement he engaged in distance running,
singing, dancing, playing the ukulele and traveling. Ishii
had four children, five grand children and three great grand
children. 30
JAPANESE AMERICAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18,
2006
NJAMF HONORS AFRICAN AMERICAN
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, US SENATOR, AND PHILIPPINE SCOUTS.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN RECOGNIZED. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, TWO
CABINET SECRETARIES, BUSINESS LEADERS AND FIFTEEN ASIAN
AMERICAN GENERALS AND ADMIRALS ATTEND AWARD DINNER.
By Japanese American
Veterans Association
Washington, D.C. The National Japanese American Memorial
Foundation (NJAMF), which was responsible for the
construction of the National Japanese American Memorial
to Patriotism During WW II on November 9, 2000, held its
third annual award banquet for approximately 350 people on
April 6, 2006 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, D.C.
The Chairman’s Award, presented to “an individual
whose leadership has significantly raised the nation’s
awareness of the Japanese American contributions,” was
awarded to retired US Senator Alan K, Simpson.
The
Award for Constitutional Rights, presented to “an
individual whose contributions to constitutional rights have
materially” advanced the “principles of diversity and
unity”, was awarded to Congressman John Lewis. The
Award for Patriotism, presented to an “individual whose
military or other contributions to the nation’s peace,
security and welfare exemplify the spirit of patriotism”,
was awarded to the Philippine Scouts.
Dr. Warren
Minami, NJAMF Chair Emeritus, said that the Memorial to
Patriotism represents three significant events: (1) the
“greatest mass abrogation of civil liberties” of 120,000
Americans of Japanese ancestry, (2) in the face of this
discriminatory act, over 25,000 men and women of Japanese
ancestry showed their patriotism by serving in the US
military, 811 making the supreme sacrifice, and (3) the
greatness of America by admitting that it has committed a
wrong and by offering a public apology by the US Congress
and the President.
Tribute
was also paid to American men and women veterans, the
National Guard, reserves and active duty personnel.
Mistress of Ceremonies was Tamlyn Tomita, star of
television, films and theater projects. She held her
audience spellbound with her skills in languages, command of
the stage, and magnetic personality. She is also admired
for her spontaneous and total support to community events.
U.S.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, who first met
Senator Simpson at the Heart Mountain Internment Center when
he was 12 years old and both were Boy Scouts, praised the
Senator for his leadership role in the enactment of the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988, known as the redress
legislation for Japanese Americans. The Senator was not
able to attend the Dinner but provided his warm acceptance
remarks on two large video screens.
US Senator
Daniel K. Inouye singled out the 10,000 Philippine Scouts,
who volunteered to serve in the US Army, for hastening the
defeat of Imperial Japan. Inouye said the Filipino warriors
exemplary performance in combat won for them three Medals of
Honor, 40 Distinguished Service Crosses, and over 200 Silver
Stars. Inouye commended the Scouts for their courage in
jungle warfare, skill in intelligence collection and
transmission, and patriotism against an overwhelming
invading force. Their capture and quick turnover to American
forces of the “Z” Plan, the Japanese naval forces master
plan to annihilate the US Navy in western Pacific,
translated by Japanese American Military Intelligence
Service linguists in Australia and provided to US naval
commanders in the Pacific, aided significantly in thwarting
the Japanese naval attack and ensuring command of the sea
lane for the invasion of Japan. Senators Daniel Akaka and
Inouye are the authors and principal sponsors of SR 146,
also known as the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005. For
many years he has led the campaigns in the US Senate for the
recognition and granting of veterans benefits to Filipino WW
II veterans.
Lt.
General Edward Soriano, US Army, Ret., former commanding
general of the 1st Army Corps and son of a
Philippine Scout, received the award on behalf of the
Philippine Scouts. Also on stage to receive the Award on
behalf of the Philippine Scouts was Captain Menardro Parazo,
US Army, Ret. Colonel Melvin Rosen, US Army, Ret.; Major
Jose Baltazar, Philippine Army, Ret.; and 1st Lt. Jose
Gineto, Philippine Army, Ret., later joined them on stage.
Parazo and Rosen were defenders of Bataan and survivors of
the Death March.
Congressman Mike Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asia
Pacific Caucus, extolled fellow Congressman John Lewis, son
of Alabama share croppers, as “one of the most courageous
persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced”. Lewis has
been in the “vanguard of progressive social movements and
the human rights struggle in the United States”, Honda
said. As a young boy, Lewis was inspired by the activism
surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of
Martin Luther King, Jr. At that point, he made a decision
to become part of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1965 the
Congressman helped spearhead one of the most significant
Civil Rights movements. He helped lead over 600 peaceful,
orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma,
Alabama on March 7, 1965. The marchers were attacked by
Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became
known as “Bloody Sunday”. News broadcasts and photographs
revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South
helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In accepting the Constitutional Rights Award,
Congressman Lewis, in commenting on the forcible evacuation
and incarceration of Japanese Americans, said to a standing
ovation, “this unconstitutional act must never happen
again”.
Ms. Elaine
L. Chao, US Secretary of Labor, said that President George
W. Bush has appointed “nearly 300 Asian Pacific Americans”
to the highest levels of the federal government, and “for
the first time in history, two Asian Pacific Americans serve
in the Cabinet” in both of his administrations.
Eric Y.
Nishizawa, Chair of the Awards Dinner, said fifteen Asian
American generals and admirals, including General Eric
Shinseki, USA, Ret., were present. Since WW II some 64
Asian Pacific Americans have been promoted to generals and
admirals: Army (42), Air Force (12), Navy (7), Marines (1),
Public Health (2). This figure includes three Asian
American women.
Philippine Ambassador Albert F. del
Rosario described the formation of the Philippine Scouts in
the early 1900’s, the US Congress approval to induct them
into the US Regular Army, their expertise in jungle warfare,
their becoming the most formidable force against the
Japanese Imperial Army, their courage in the battle of
Bataan and Corregidor, and their fierce defense of
democratic values. The Ambassador credited the Scouts for
saving his life when, at age 5, he was seriously wounded in
a combat crossfire and was given up for dead. In addition
to General Soriano, Major General Antonio Taguba, US Army,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness,
Training and Mobilization in the
Office
of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs,
is also a son of a Philippine Scout.
A fifteen
minute video of Japanese American women contributions in WW
II was presented with narration by Kristine Minami. During
the forcible evacuation from their homes on the west coast
of the United States and subsequent incarceration in 10
camps in desolate locations, the mothers’ primary task was
to care for the family, to keep them together and focused,
Minami said. The young women in their late teens and
twenties left the camps for work, universities and the
military for which about 500 volunteered. Chizuko
Shinagawa reflected the attitude of that group: “It’s a
wonderful opportunity for my people to participate actively
in the greatest battle for democracy the world has ever
known. By serving in the WAC, I found the true meaning of
democracy. … All Americans, whatever their ancestry, must
remember that they will be judged in the future by the role
they play now.” Jane Nishida’s generous donation of the
book, “Serving our Country: Japanese American Women in
the Military During WW II” by Brenda L. Moore, professor
at University of Buffalo, New York, enabled each attendee
the opportunity to learn more of the Nisei women’s wartime
contribution.
Mitsuye
Endo, a civil service employee for the state of California
who was forcibly evacuated and interned, was also cited for
her courage in challenging the constitutionality of the
forced removals. Her long court struggle culminated in
December 1944 when the Supreme Court of the US ruled that
Endo had clearly established her loyalty and there were not
sufficient grounds for confinement. Associate Justice Frank
Murphy said, “It is another example of the unconstitutional
resort to racism in the entire evacuation program.” This
decision helped accelerate the suspension of the exclusion
order and allowed the internees to return to their homes on
the West Coast.
You are
invited to make a tax free donation to the NJAMF education
program. Your checks, payable to NJAMF, should be sent to
NJAMF; 1620 I St, NW, Suite 925; Washington, D.C. 20006. 30
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