[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 49 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E716-E717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LATE FRED TOYOSABURO KOREMATSU

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 2005

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the late Fred 
Toyosaburo Korematsu, a man who through quiet determination and an 
unwavering belief in justice became one of the icons of the American 
Civil Rights movement of the 20th Century. As we reflect on Mr. 
Korematsu's remarkable life and his wonderful legacy, I ask all of my 
colleagues to join me in saluting this true American hero.
  The son of Japanese immigrants, Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was born in 
Oakland, California on January 30th, 1919. After graduating from high 
school, Fred went to work as a welder, a job that Fred would keep until 
war broke out between the United States and Japan. In February of 1942, 
120,000 residents of Japanese ancestry, including American citizens, 
were ordered out of their homes and into camps following Japan's attack 
on Pearl Harbor. Fred, at the age of 22, watched as his parents vacated 
their home, but he decided to defy the order and remain behind because 
he felt it was wrong for innocent and loyal citizens to be rounded up 
at once.
  In May of 1942, Fred was stopped by police and charged with violating 
the military's exclusion order. Fred was ultimately turned over to the 
FBI, and convicted and jailed for failure to report for evacuation. 
During his imprisonment, Fred was visited by Ernest Besig, the 
Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern 
California at the time. Mr. Besig, who was seeking for cases to test 
the constitutionality of the internment, posted $5,000 in bail to free 
Fred, but the military police would not oblige. Fred was eventually 
transferred to a camp in Topaz, Utah, where he was generally ostracized 
by his fellow inmates for having attempted to dodge internment.
  Fred's case against the government's internment of Japanese Americans 
was ultimately heard and struck down by the Supreme Court. Justice 
Frank Murphy, one of three dissenting Justices, called the internment 
order ``legalization of racism.'' Fred tried his best to lead a normal 
life as he worked as a welder in Salt Lake City toward the end of the 
war.
  At the end of the internment in 1944, Fred returned to the San 
Francisco Bay Area, where he and his wife, Kathryn, raised a daughter, 
Karen, and a son, Ken. Fred had a long career as a draftsman, but he 
could not get a job at a larger firm or government agency because of 
his prior felony conviction.
  Legal historian and author Peter H. Irons discovered the government 
had lied to the high court while researching a book on wartime 
internment in the early 1980s. This discovery caught the attention of 
civil rights attorney Dale Minami. Mr. Minami, along with a team of 
dedicated attorneys, petitioned the U.S. Circuit Court in San Francisco 
to correct the error that was made before the court, which was that 
government prosecutors suppressed, altered and destroyed material 
evidence during its prosecution of the original case. After an arduous 
2\1/2\-year process, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated 
Fred's original and wrongful conviction on November 10, 1983.

[[Page E717]]

  In January of 1998, Fred Korematsu was awarded a Presidential Medal 
of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Bill 
Clinton. During the presentation, President Clinton said that the name 
Korematsu can be rightfully added to the list of Plessy, Brown, and 
Ferguson as the greatest civil rights pioneers in our Nation's history.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to Fred Korematsu. Fred 
Korematsu is the epitome of a true patriot; someone who is not afraid 
to stand up for what is right and just. Although he is no longer with 
us, his legacy will continue to live on for generations to come. I ask 
all of my colleagues to join me in thanking Fred Korematsu for his 
steadfast commitment to civil rights and justice.

                          ____________________