[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15920-15921]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING JIM MURAKAMI OF SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 15, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to posthumously 
honor and pay tribute to Jim Murakami, a great community leader who 
dedicated much of his life to advocating for the Civil Liberties Act of 
1988, which achieved redress for the 120,000 United States citizens of 
Japanese descent on the West Coast that were wrongfully incarcerated in 
internment camps during World War II.
  Mr. Murakami was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California. When WWII 
broke out, Mr. Murakami and his family were first incarcerated in the 
temporary internment camp in Merced, California and were later moved to 
the camp at Amache, Colorado.
  After Mr. Murakami graduated from high school, he joined the Army and 
served two years in Germany. After he was discharged, Mr. Murakami 
returned to his hometown of Santa Rosa, where he raised a family with 
his wife of 59 years, Margarette, and where he lived until his death in 
2012.

[[Page 15921]]

  Mr. Murakami joined the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in 
the early 1950s and quickly rose through the ranks of the organization. 
He was the president of the local JACL chapter, the first governor of 
the Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District, as well as the 
national vice president of the organization from 1972-1975 before 
becoming the national president from 1976-1978.
  During his tenure with the JACL, Mr. Murakami worked tirelessly on 
the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, finally seeing it passed and signed 
into law by President Reagan in 1988. The Act required a Presidential 
apology and a symbolic payment to the surviving internees who were 
subjected to forced relocation.
  In addition to his work with the JACL, Mr. Murakami was also a member 
of the Santa Rosa East Rotary for more than 50 years as well as a 
permanent member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
  He was a regular financial supporter of the Hannah Boys Center, the 
Sonoma County Museum, and his local fire department.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Murakami was forced to endure dreadful circumstances 
that most of us have never, nor will ever, experience. In the face of 
this adversity, Mr. Murakami not only served his country in the Armed 
Forces when called upon but also worked tirelessly to right the 
injustice he experienced through his advocacy for the Civil Liberties 
Act of 1988. Mr. Murakami was a valuable, contributing member of his 
community, both locally and nationally. It is therefore appropriate 
that, on this 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Liberties 
Act of 1988, we honor and remember him today for his many 
contributions.

                          ____________________