[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16583-16584]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE WASHINGTON STATE'S NISEI VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 2, 2011

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Japanese-
American veterans who served so courageously during World War II in the 
100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the 
Military Intelligence Service. In recognition of their extraordinary 
service, they are being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.
  I am especially proud to join 26 veterans, six widows of veterans, 
and more than 320 family members who are here today to attend the award 
ceremony on behalf of Washington State's Nisei Veterans Committee. We 
come together to acknowledge and to thank the Nisei veterans and their 
families for their sacrifice and their patriotism.
  As an Honorary Nisei Veteran, I have had the opportunity to talk to 
many of these veterans, their children, and their grandchildren as we 
remember the soldiers and their proud,

[[Page 16584]]

fearless service to our country, which is all the more exemplary given 
that some of their families were held in U.S. internment camps solely 
because of their race.
  Mr. Speaker, the Nisei Veterans have helped to enrich the Seattle 
community and strengthen our country. Their service and legacy are an 
inspiration to us all. I am privileged to be a part of the ceremony in 
Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitor Center.

                          ____________________