[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22976-22978]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            WILLIAM KENZO NAKAMURA UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5302) to designate the United States courthouse located at 
1010 Fifth Avenue in Seattle, Washington, as the ``William Kenzo 
Nakamura United States Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5302

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse located at 1010 Fifth Avenue 
     in Seattle, Washington, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the building referred 
     to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     ``William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. 
Shows) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation to name the 
courthouse in Seattle, Washington, the William Kenzo Nakamura United 
States Courthouse.
  Private Nakamura volunteered for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team 
during World War II. On July 4th, 1944, in Italy, Private First Class 
Nakamura's actions of heroism freed his platoon's position from gunfire 
twice. He first advanced an enemy's machine gun nest and allowed his 
platoon to move forward with minimal casualties. Later that day, 
Private Nakamura provided cover against machine gun fire to slow the 
enemy, which allowed his platoon to retreat to safety. Private First 
Class Nakamura suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head while the 
platoon was able to return to safety. More than 100 Members of the 
442nd, including Nakamura, received the Distinguished Service Cross, 
and 55 years later Private First Class Nakamura rightfully received the 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
  This Courthouse naming him is supported by the entire Washington 
State delegation, I am told, and many, many other prominent patriotic 
groups; and I strongly urge support for this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5302, a bill to designate the 
courthouse located at 1010 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington, as the 
William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse. The bill has the support of the 
entire Washington delegation, and I congratulate the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) for his tireless efforts on behalf of this 
bill.
  The story of William Nakamura is a story of an American hero. He was 
born and raised in Seattle. As a young man, in 1942, he and his family 
were forcibly relocated to a Federal internment camp. While at Minidoka 
Relocation Center in Iowa, William and his brothers then enlisted in 
the U.S. Army. In their minds, their loyalty to the United States was 
unquestionable.
  He was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It is now well 
documented that this unit was one of World War II's bravest fighting 
units and was one of the most decorated units in the history of our 
Nation's military.
  On the 4th of July, 1944, William Nakamura distinguished himself with 
astonishing bravery and remarkable heroism in a raging battle outside 
of Castellina, Italy. While his entire platoon was pinned down by enemy 
machine gun fire, he crawled within 15 feet of the enemy bunker and 
destroyed the machine gun nest with four hand grenades. Later in the 
battle he provided extraordinary cover for his platoon as they returned 
to safety. Tragically, Private Nakamura lost his life to sniper fire in 
the process.
  Although he was nominated for the Medal of Honor, the racial 
environment at the time prevented him and many other soldiers of color 
from receiving the honors to which they were due and entitled. In the 
spring of 2000, over 50 years after Private Nakamura made the ultimate 
sacrifice for his country, he was posthumously awarded the 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
  Mr. Speaker, it is truly fitting and proper that William Kenzo 
Nakamura be honored with this designation in his

[[Page 22977]]

hometown of Seattle, Washington. I support this legislation, and urge 
my colleagues to join me in honoring a true American hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the ranking member on the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure might also have a subtitle, the Committee on 
Commendation of Great Americans. There are few opportunities for us in 
this body to memorialize Americans who have made great contributions to 
their country, sacrifice in many ways including, as in this case, 
sacrifice of their very lives.
  It is our good fortune to have jurisdiction over Federal buildings to 
the extent even of naming those Federal buildings; and we have on this 
committee, on a bipartisan basis, reserved that responsibility for very 
special cases. We carefully review the many bills introduced to name 
structures for figures important locally or statewide or nationally; 
and in the end, our judgment on a bipartisan basis has been to reserve 
the naming of a building for someone who has truly made an 
extraordinary contribution.
  This afternoon we have had at least one example of that with the 
naming of the George Brown building. Here, with the naming of the 
William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse in Seattle, we have an 
opportunity to acknowledge, pay tribute to and memorialize for time 
everlasting, or at least as long as this structure will last, a true 
American hero, William Kenzo Nakamura.
  One of our colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure who came to Congress with me in the same class, the 94th 
Congress, and later was chairman of the Committee on Public Works and 
Transportation, as it was known then, Mr. Minetta, was, like Private 
Nakamura, with his family, taken off to an internment camp in the 
American desert, simply because he was Japanese and because of the very 
powerful outpouring of feeling after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
  But Mr. Nakamura and his brothers, and while, of course, I cannot 
speak for their sentiments, but I know from Mr. Minetta, they were 
bewildered, they were resentful, they could not understand why their 
loyalty was being questioned. Americans of German ancestry were not 
hustled off to camps and sequestered from the rest of the country.
  Mr. Nakamura and his brothers felt that they were unquestionably 
loyal to the United States, and they enlisted in the United States 
Army. The story of Mr. Nakamura's service in World War II with the 
442nd Regimental Combat Team has already been told by the chairman and 
by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Shows).
  What an extraordinary account. What an extraordinary life. To not 
hold it against your country or your fellow countrymen for 
discriminating against you or your family, but, indeed, to offer your 
service, including your very life, for your country, one of the 
greatest acts of patriotism, meriting the Congressional Medal of Honor, 
along with other honors.
  But today we take an opportunity to stop, reflect and make things 
right in the long run for Private Nakamura, for his family, and for all 
Americans of Japanese ancestry who were so unfairly treated in World 
War II, but, in this case, who rose above discrimination to become a 
true American patriot.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment my good friend, and while I do not 
want to withdraw my compliment, I certainly want to let that stand, I 
will withdraw anything else I might say because I see the gentleman who 
we have been waiting for with bated breath has now arrived, so this 
filibuster, at least on this side, now can end.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Seattle, Washington (Mr. McDermott).
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I should start first by thanking the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) and the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for delaying this process, or extending it. 
Whatever you want to say, the delaying action was in.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a particularly important moment for Seattle, 
because in 1941, at the time of the height of the Second World War, the 
United States chose to send to concentration camps all over the West 
Japanese Americans. One of them was Private First Class Nakamura.
  His story is largely unknown, really was unknown in Seattle, and 
designating this courthouse in his name is really a fitting way to 
acknowledge not only his memory as a true American hero, but also to 
acknowledge a blot on our political situation that many of us have 
tried hard to remove over the years. Naming this courthouse after him 
will certainly begin or continue that process.
  Bill Nakamura was born and raised in an area of Seattle called Japan 
Town. In 1942, while attending the University of Washington, he and his 
family and 110,000 other Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to 
Federal internment camps. While living at the Minidoko Relocation Camp 
in Idaho, Nakamura and his brothers enlisted in the United States Army.

                              {time}  1645

  They were assigned to what was to become the most decorated unit in 
the United States military, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 
courageous service of this unit is matched by no other unit in our 
history. Mr. Nakamura distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism 
and action on the 4th of July, 1944 near Castellina, Italy.
  His platoon approached the city; and as it did, it came under heavy 
fire. Acting on his own initiative, PFC Nakamura crawled within 15 
yards of an enemy machine gun nest, used four hand grenades to 
neutralize the enemy fire which allowed his platoon to continue its 
advance. Nakamura's company was later ordered to withdraw from the 
crest of the hill, but rather than retreat with his platoon, PFC 
Nakamura took a position to cover the platoon's withdrawal. As the 
platoon moved towards safety, they suddenly became pinned down once 
again by machine gun fire.
  PFC Nakamura crawled toward the enemy position and accurately fired 
upon the machine gunners, allowing his platoon to return to safety. It 
was during this heroic stand that PFC Nakamura lost his life, an enemy 
sniper got him. He was immediately nominated by his commanding officer 
for a Medal of Honor, but the racial climate in 1944, 1945 prevented 
him and other soldiers of color from receiving the Nation's highest 
honor. This year, 56 years later, after he made the ultimate sacrifice 
for his country, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as the 
part of the process by which a number of soldiers records were 
reviewed. Naming the courthouse in his honor will put really an 
exclamation point on how we treated him and other Japanese Americans 
and how they repaid us, how they fought to protect the country that had 
done them not so well.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not want to take all the credit here, Steve Finely, 
one of the people in my district came up with the idea, the gentlewoman 
from Washington (Ms. Dunn) has worked very hard in getting the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) to bring this bill 
through. This bill has not been on the docket for more than about 3 
weeks. So this is a rather rapid transit through this House, and I want 
to thank again the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) and 
his staffer, Matt Wallen, for their efforts, as well as the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar). There are a whole list of organizations 
in Washington that participated in making this possible, one person I 
think that needs to be recognized is June Oshima, who is Mr. Nakamura's 
sister. She was part of the group that asked and persuaded the 
Department of Defense to look at these men who had served bravely and 
had not been recognized.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very important thing, not a big thing in the 
history of

[[Page 22978]]

the world, but it is important that people who are willing to do the 
right thing, even when other people have not done the right thing to 
them, they need to be recognized. For that reason, I urge the passage 
of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5302, legislation which 
designates the United States courthouse in Seattle, Washington, as the 
``William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse''.
  This legislation has the strong support of the entire Washington 
State delegation, Robert Matsui, Representative Patsy Mink, and 
Representative David Wu and locally elected officials in the Pacific 
Northwest. The legislation is broadly supported by veterans groups 
including the Nisei Veterans Committee, Northwest Chapter of the 
Military Intelligence Service, Mercer Island VFW Post 5760, Lake 
Washington VFW Post 2995, Renton VFW Post 1263, The Seattle Chapter of 
the Association of the U.S. Army.
  Pfc. Nakamura's story is largely unknown; designating the U.S. 
Courthouse in his name is a fitting way to acknowledge the memory of a 
true American hero, who for so many years was denied the honor he so 
justly deserved.
  William Kenzo Nakamura was born and raised in an area of Seattle that 
used to be known as ``Japantown.'' In 1942, while attending the 
University of Washington, William Kenzo Nakamura, his family, and 
110,000 other Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to federal 
internment camps. While living at the Minidoka Relocation Center in 
Idaho, Nakamura and his brothers enlisted in the United States Army. 
William Kenzo Nakamura was assigned to serve with the 442nd Regimental 
Combat Team. The courageous service of this unit during World War II 
made it one of the most decorated in the history of our nation's 
military.
  William Kenzo Nakamura distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism 
in action on July 4, 1944, near Castellina, Italy. As Pfc. Nakamura's 
platoon approached Castellina, it came under heavy enemy fire. Acting 
on his own initiative, Pfc. Nakamura crawled within 15 yards of the 
enemy's machine gun nest and used four hand grenades to neutralize the 
enemy fire which allowed his platoon to continue its advance. Pfc. 
Nakamura's company was later ordered to withdraw from the crest of a 
hill. Rather than retreat with his platoon, Pfc. Nakamura took a 
position to cover the platoon's withdrawal. As his platoon moved toward 
safety they suddenly became pinned down by machine gun fire. Pfc. 
Nakamura crawled toward the enemy's position and accurately fired upon 
the machine gunners, allowing his platoon time to withdraw to safety. 
It was during this heroic stand that Pfc. Nakamura lost his life to 
enemy sniper fire.
  Pfc. Nakamura's commanding officer nominated him for the Medal of 
Honor but the racial climate of the time prevented him, and other 
soldiers of color, from receiving the nation's highest honor. This 
year, fifty-six years after he made the ultimate sacrifice for his 
country, William Kenzo Nakamura was awarded the Congressional Medal of 
Honor.
  I would like to acknowledge June Oshima, Pfc. Nakamura's sister. This 
legislation confirms what she and the Nakamura family have long known, 
William Kenzo Nakamura is an American hero. William Kenzo Nakamura 
embodies the American spirit--an individual who faced enormous inequity 
imparted on him by his country, yet nobly volunteered to protect it 
paying the ultimate sacrifice. The ``William K. Nakamura Courthouse'' 
will stand to remind us all of his and other Japanese-American's 
contributions and sacrifices for this country. Naming the Courthouse in 
his honor of William Kenzo Nakamura would be a fitting honor for him 
and other Japanese Americans.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5302.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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