[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          COLONEL JAMES HANLEY

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today I have the sad duty of 
announcing to this chamber that America has lost a hero, and a friend 
who had a large impact on my life. On June 20, 1998, Col. James Hanley 
died in Palo Alto, California after living a life marked by service to 
his country and commitment to the ideals for which this nation stands.
  I had the privilege of serving with Col. Hanley in battle during 
WWII. He was the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 442nd 
Regimental Combat Team, of which I am proud to have been a member. 
Those trying days seem like yesterday and I can recall Col. Hanley 
being a source of strength for us. He was admired and respected by his 
men.
  The story of the 442nd is rich and dramatic, but mostly it paints a 
picture of bravery and courage. When America learned of the news that 
Pearl Harbor had been bombed by the Empire of Japan on December 7, a 
widespread distrust of anyone of Japanese ancestry began to grow. 
Despite a prejudice which had many of them and their families 
incarcerated in concentration camps, brave Japanese American soldiers 
volunteered for military service following the attack. Those courageous 
volunteers were kept together and eventually became the 442nd 
Regimental Combat Team and Col. Hanley became one of its leaders.
  To give you a flavor for Col. Hanley's leadership, sensitivity, and 
wisdom, I would like to read for the record a letter he wrote to a 
newspaper editor when that individual made ethnic slurs against the 
Japanese. Keep in mind that the letter is dated March 10, 1945, when 
the war with Japan was at its bloodiest.

       Dear Charlie: Just received the Pioneer of Jan. 20 and 
     noted the paragraph enclosed.
       Yes, Charlie, I know where there are some GOOD Japanese 
     Americans--there are some 5,000 of them in this unit. They 
     are American soldiers--and I know where some of them are 
     buried. I wish I could show you some of them, Charlie. I 
     remember one Japanese American. He was walking ahead of me in 
     a forest in France. A German shell took the right side of his 
     face off. I recall another boy, an 88 had been trying to get 
     us for some time--finally got him. When they carried him out 
     on a stretcher, the bloody meat from the middle of his thighs 
     hung down over the end of the stretcher and dragged in the 
     dirt--the bone parts were gone.
       I recall a sergeant--a Japanese American, if you will--who 
     had his back blown in two--what was he doing? Why, he was 
     lying on top of an officer who had been wounded, to protect 
     him from the shell fragments during a barrage.
       I recall one of my boys who stopped a German counterattack 
     single handed. He fired all his BAR ammunition, picked up a 
     German rifle, emptied that--used a German Lugar pistol he had 
     taken from a prisoner.
       I wish I could tell you the number of Japanese Americans 
     who have died in this unit alone.
       I wish I could tell you the number of wounded we have had, 
     the sightless eyes, missing limbs, broken minds.
       I wish I could tell you the decorations we have won.
       I wish the boys in the ``Lost Battalion'' could tell you 
     what they think of Japanese Americans.
       I wish all the troops we have fought beside could tell you 
     what they know.
       The marvel is, Charlie, that these boys fight at all--they 
     are good soldiers in spite of the type of racial prejudice 
     shown by your paragraph.
       I know it makes a good joke--but is the kind of joke that 
     prejudice thrives upon. It shows a lack of faith in the 
     American ideal. Our system is supposed to make good Americans 
     out of anyone--it certainly has done so in the case of these 
     boys.
       You, the Hood River Legion Post, Hearst, and a few others 
     make one wonder just what we are fighting for. I hope it 
     isn't racial prejudice.
       Come over here, Charlie, I'll show you where ``some good 
     Japanese Americans'' are buried.
                                                      J.M. Hanley,
                                          Hgq. 442nd Inf. APO 758.

       Mr. President, in conclusion, I offer my deepest sympathy 
     for Col. Hanley's family and his dear wife, Joan. I want them 
     to know of my deepest admiration for him, as they reflect on 
     his significant life.

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