[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9] [Senate] [Pages 11852-11854] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I stand here today to pay tribute to the 22 men who received the Medal of Honor yesterday. As has been indicated by a number of my colleagues, one of those recipients is my dear friend and colleague from Hawaii, Senator Daniel K. Inouye. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to: Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Second Lieutenant, 442nd Regimental Combat Team; Rudolph Davila, Staff Sergeant, 3rd Army; Barney Hajiro, Private First Class, 442nd RCT; Mikio Hasemoto, Private, 100th Battalion; Joe Hayashi, Private First Class, 442nd RCT; Shizuya Hayashi, Private, 100th Battalion; Yeiki Kobashigawa, Technical Sergeant, 100th Battalion; Robert Kuroda, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT; Kaoru Moto, Private First Class, 100th Battalion; Kiyoshi Muranaga, Private First Class, 442nd RCT; Masato Nakae, Private First Class, 100th Battalion; Sinyei Nakamine, Private, 100th Battalion; William Nakamura, Private First Class, 442nd RCT; Joe Nishimoto, Private, 442nd RCT; Allan Ohata, Staff Sergeant, 100th Battalion; James Okubo, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT; Yukio Okutsu, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT; Frank Ono, Private First Class, 442nd RCT; Kazuo Otani, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT; George Sakato, Private, 442nd RCT; Ted Tanouye, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT; Francis Wai, Captain, 34th Division. Mr. President, these 22 Medal of Honor recipients have joined an elite group of soldiers honored for exceptional valor in service to our country. It may have taken half a century, but the passage of time has not diminished the magnificence of their courage. These 22 men truly represent the best that America has to offer. They answered the call to duty and proved that patriotism is solely a circumstance of the heart. These men answered the call of duty with conviction and courage, at a time when these virtues were most in demand by a needy Nation. In the face of discrimination and injustice at home, these men set aside personal consideration to defend our great Nation on foreign battlefields. By their actions, these 22 men proved that patriotism is not based on the color of one's skin, but on the courage and strength of one's convictions. I am pleased to have contributed to the process that finally led to the appropriate recognition of these soldiers. Legislation initiated by the Senate required the military to review the records of all Asian Pacific American recipients of the Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Cross during World War II to determine if any merit upgrade to the Medal of Honor. Many times I have been asked why I thought review was necessary. The review provision was offered and adopted out of concern that Asian Pacific American veterans have never been fully recognized for their military contributions during the Second World War. Many in Hawaii know of the exploits of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It came as a surprise that few on the mainland were familiar with the service of this famous all-Nisei, second generation Japanese unit, or of the secret Military Intelligence Service whose members served in the Pacific. Twenty of the twenty two Medal of Honor recipients honored yesterday and today are from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Of the remaining two recipients, Sergeant Rudolph Davila served with the 7th Infantry and Captain Francis Wai served with the 34th Division. Few people realize the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. On December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, a call went out for all University of Hawaii ROTC members to report for duty. These students, most of whom were Americans of Japanese ancestry, responded to the call and were fully prepared to defend the United States. 370 of the Japanese American ROTC cadets were sworn into the Hawaii Territorial Guard and guarded the most sensitive and important installations in Hawaii. Due to the shock at the attack on Pearl Harbor and an unfortunate ignorance by some of the culture and racial makeup of the citizens of Hawaii, there were individuals who opposed Japanese Americans serving in the Territorial Guard. The 370 Japanese Americans who had served faithfully, willingly, and patriotically during the weeks following Pearl Harbor, were dismissed from the Territorial Guard because of their ancestry. Instead of rebelling, resigning, or protesting, these men wrote to the Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department and stated their ``willingness to do their part as loyal Americans in every way'' and offered themselves for ``whatever you may see fit to use us.'' These men formed the Varsity Victory Volunteers and worked at the quarries, constructed roads, helped construct warehouses, renovated quarters, strung barbed wire, and built chairs, tables, and lamps. They even donated blood and bought bonds. We cannot forget that these men were students and could have been making money in white collar jobs. Instead, they devoted their time to doing what they could to help the military. It was this group of Japanese American volunteers, the Varsity Victory Volunteers, who were eventually given the authorization by the War Department to form the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which would earn the distinction as the ``most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the United States.'' Their motto, ``Go for Broke,'' is a perfect description of their spirit and character as men and as a fighting unit. The 442nd and 100th Battalion captured enemy positions and rescued comrades. They completed missions that seemed impossible. Ignoring danger, they repeatedly placed themselves in harm's way, gaining a reputation for fearless and fierce fighting. Throughout the Army their bravery earned them the nickname the ``Purple Heart Battalion.'' In 1943, when the War Department decided to accept Nisei volunteers, over 1,000 Hawaii Nisei volunteered on the first day. The spirit and attitude of these volunteers is captured in the senior Senator from Hawaii's memoir, ``Journey to Washington.'' I want to read an excerpt from the book describing an exchange between young Dan Inouye and his father as he left to report for induction. After a long period of silence between us, he said unexpectedly, ``You know what `on' means?'' ``Yes,'' I replied. On is at the very heart of Japanese culture. On requires that when one man is aided by another, he incurs a debt that is never canceled, one that must be repaid at every opportunity. ``The Inouyes have great on for America,'' my father said. ``It has been good to us. And now it is you who must try to return the goodness. You are my first son, and you are very precious to your mother and me, but you must do what must be done.'' Mr. President, for over 60 years, my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Hawaii, has returned to America the goodness and service to honor his father's admonition. On the field of battle in Italy, in the territorial legislature, and for over 40 years in Congress, Dan Inouye has served his country with distinction and courage. His leadership on national defense, [[Page 11853]] civil rights, and a host of other issues have made America a stronger and better country. I am proud to serve with him in the United States Senate. Mr. President, the people of Hawaii are also very proud that 12 of the 22 men awarded the Medal of Honor are from Hawaii. My Honolulu office received a call the other day from a constituent in Waianae, a small community on the leeward coast of Oahu, who wanted to make sure that people knew that three Medal of Honor recipients were from Waianae. Indeed, the people of Hawaii are proud and grateful for all the local boys who have served in defense of our nation. They are well aware of the sacrifice and hardship endured by our men in uniform during World War II and subsequent conflicts. Out of the 22 men honored, 10 were killed in battle. Five of the recipients survived World War II, but have passed on prior to knowing that their medals were upgraded. That leaves us with seven living recipients, five of whom, I am proud to say, are from the State of Hawaii. I see this as an opportunity to inform the American public about the degree and level of participation of Asian Pacific Americans in the war effort. I thank President Clinton, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, and Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera for the painstaking and thorough manner in which the review and nomination process was conducted. I commend Secretary Caldera and all the Army personnel who conducted this review in a thorough and professional manner. They carried out the difficult task of identifying the records of more than one hundred veterans. I would also like to acknowledge the 442nd Veterans Club, and Club 100 for their unwavering support and assistance in the review process. I want to thank Ed Ichiyama, Sakae Takahashi, and Iwao Yokooji for their tremendous work in recognizing the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in military intelligence and the frontlines of battle. The accounts documented for each of the 104 Distinguished Service Cross recipients underscore our faith in a Nation that produces such heroes and are a wonderful legacy for our children and grandchildren. I would also like to pay tribute to the Military Intelligence Service, whose unit citation was signed by Secretary Caldera last night, because in a profound way, my interest in this area began with the MIS. About 10 years ago, I heard of the late Colonel Richard Sakakida's remarkable experiences as an Army undercover agent in the Philippines during World War II. His MIS colleagues worked to have his extraordinary service honored by our Government and the Government of the Philippines. While working to have Colonel Sakakida's service acknowledged with appropriate decoration, I realized that there were many war heroes whose valiant service had been overlooked. I recalled that only two Asian Pacific Americans received the Medal of Honor for service during World War II. The number seemed too low when you consider the high- intensity combat experienced by the 100th and 442nd, the service of 12,000 Filipino Americans in the U.S. Army, and the dangerous assignments taken by the 6,000 members of the MIS. President Truman recognized it for what it was on a rain-drenched day in 1945, when during a White House ceremony honoring the 100th and 442nd, he observed, ``you fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice, and you have won.'' Mr. President, these men are not being awarded the Medal of Honor because of their race. They are being given their due recognition for their exceptional acts of valor. Fifty-five years ago, our country refused to appropriately recognize that these men distinguished themselves by gallantry and audacious courage, risking their lives in service above and beyond the call of duty. This is a great day to be an American, and I am honored to stand before the Senate to pay tribute to these 22 men who fought to defend our great Nation. In their memory and in celebration of our Nation's everlasting commitment to justice and liberty, I honor these 22 men and their achievements and offer them the highest praise for all they have done to keep us free. Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, some people have inquired about why I have been so interested in the award of a Congressional Medal of Honor to our distinguished friend from Hawaii, Senator Daniel Inouye. I come to the floor to explain that. As a young boy, I attended school in Redondo Beach, CA. That high school was also attended by a substantial number of Japanese students. On December 7 of 1941, we had the terrible attack on the United States. Following that attack, almost half of the young boys, young men of our high school class, did not return to school. They were Japanese young men. Within a few weeks, they and their families were interned and taken to local racetracks and other places and put into internment camps. I never saw those young men again. They were young men with whom I played football and knew very well. Many of them joined the same unit Senator Inouye was in, the 442nd. It was not until 1996, when Senator Akaka, Senator Inouye's colleague, introduced an amendment, that I realized there had been probably one of the greatest mistakes made by the American military in its history. On February 10, 1996, Senator Akaka offered an amendment that became section 524 of Public Law 104-106. It was for this purpose: Review regarding upgrading of Distinguished-Service Crosses and Navy Crosses awarded to Asian-Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders for World War II service. It required the Secretary of the Army to review the records relating to the awards of the Distinguished-Service Cross and the Secretary of the Navy to review the records relating to the Navy Cross awarded to these people to determine whether or not the people who had received those awards should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. As a result of that review, as we all know, yesterday we attended, at the White House, the Medal of Honor ceremony that did result in the upgrading of these awards that had been previously made to 21 different individuals. One of them was to my great friend, the Senator from Hawaii. The Senate will have a reception, sponsored by Senator Byrd and myself, for Senator Inouye this afternoon. At this time, at noon, he is becoming a member of the Medal of Honor Society at the Offices of the Secretary of the Army. We have invited every Member of the Senate, and I do hope they will come by. The ceremony will start at 4:30. The room will be opened at 4 o'clock. It is the Caucus Room in the Russell Building. At my request, Stephen Ambrose, who wrote the D-Day book and other books very well known to our people, will be there to make some remarks concerning Senator Inouye. I have decided this citation should appear in the Record. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record as it appears in the document presented by the President of the United States to those of us who attended the ceremony yesterday. There being no objection, the citation was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: C I T A T I O N The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to: Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye united states army for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the [[Page 11854]] enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, we are all honored to serve with this Senator. I hope every Member of the Senate will attend the reception for him. Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, all of us thank Senator Stevens and Senator Byrd for having a gathering this afternoon for Senator Inouye. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee. Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be given 10 minutes in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________