Japanese American Veterans Association

e-Advocate

Vol. 3, No. 40, October 1, 2021

Finding Frank Fujino: An uncanny coincidence leads to a puzzling story of a 442 veteran.

Frank Fujino's license plate with a sticker for 1983, the year he died. Photo: George Toshio Johnston.

[EdNote: After a multi-year quest to uncover more about the former owner of his California home, Pacific Citizen journalist George Johnston, in an article that appeared serially in 2020 in the Pacific Citizen, gives a remarkable and comprehensive account of Frank Fujino, a 442nd RCT veteran. Fujino, who lost a leg during World War II, died in 1983 leaving a trail of confounding anecdotes about his military service. In the article, Johnston attempts to separate fact from fiction and shed light on a man who was often in the limelight after War, but then nearly faded into obscurity. Below is a brief excerpt of the article; please visit https://www.pacificcitizen.org/finding-frank-fujino/ to read the story in its entirety.]

By George Toshio Johnston,  Senior Editor, Digital and Social Media

Excerpt Reprinted with Permission, Pacific Citizen, November 6, 2020 

“Looking back over the many months that I spent compiling information about Frank Toichi Fujino, whether it was paying for copies of documents in analog form (on paper or from microfilm) or searching for the now-digital trail and ephemera of Fujino’s life, my thoughts and feelings swung from different extremes.

Initially, I only knew that Fujino was a Nisei who had served in the Army’s segregated 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII. That fact alone was significant to me.

As someone of Japanese ancestry, the meaning, the lessons, the significance, the import, the legacy and the gravitas of the service of Japanese Americans, whether in the 442nd across the Atlantic or the Military Intelligence Service across the Pacific, for subsequent generations of Japanese Americans in particular but also other Asian American groups and anyone and everyone else who is an American and calls this land home, is direct and tremendous.

Serving and sacrificing as they did, that group of men made life for everyone who followed — and not just Japanese Americans — easier, better, freer, more equitable and more respectable.

The serendipity of having bought the home once owned by this particular 442 vet and also working for the newspaper that ran articles about him, including one in particular that indeed read “like a dime thriller” makes one wonder if the definition of coincidence as being something random needs to be amended.

In this photo by Toge Fujihira from the P.C.’s Dec. 8, 1945, issue, Frank Fujino is on the left, seated at a table with his friend and Walter Reed roommate, Terumi ”Terry” Kato and another unidentified 442 vet at the Hotel Delmonico. Standing are Earl Finch and Ed Sullivan. According to the photo caption, the Nov. 21 event was a New York JACL dance. Photo: Courtesy of Pacific Citizen.

Last fall, when I saw the Los Angeles Examiner’s photos from the 1951 I Am an American Day and learned that Frank Fujino had lost his right leg during WWII, I was stunned. I had not known the extent of his injuries.

When I read John Kitasako’s 1947 article about Frank Fujino, I was flabbergasted. What is described in that article, what he went through, what he experienced was almost unimaginable.

Upon reading that 1947 P.C. article, I was excited that such an amazing story about a 442 vet had been overlooked and forgotten. I wondered why no one had already uncovered his story? Why had no one heard of him?

Almost to a person, however, no one I had spoken to about Frank Fujino had ever heard of him or knew him. Why was that? When I spoke with Densho’s always-helpful Brian Niiya about him, he noted that because Frank Fujino died in 1983, it was a few years before younger generations began organized efforts to interview aging 442 vets and collect oral histories while they were still alive with memories intact.

The late Chester Tanaka’s book, “Go for Broke: A Pictorial History of the Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442d Regimental Combat Team,” was published in 1982. The late filmmaker Loni Ding’s two independent documentaries on Nisei military service ­­—­­ “Nisei Soldier: Standard Bearer for an Exiled People” and “The Color of Honor” — didn’t come out until 1984 and 1989, respectively.

When Fujino died, the Japanese American National Museum and the Go for Broke National Education Center were not even embryos. Perhaps that answered why few people now knew of Frank Fujino.

There is also the age factor. Were he living now, Frank Fujino would be 102. As noted, fellow 442 vets Lawson Sakai and Don Seki, who both died last summer, were 96. They presumably might have known him or known of him. But that six-year differential, plus the fact that Fujino had joined the 442 as a “replacement” in 1944, might explain why they had no recollection of him, not to mention the failing memory that can come with age.

Seki, as noted, had no recollection of Frank Fujino. This despite my sending the photo with him, Frank Fujino and Humphrey Bogart to his daughter, Tracey Matsuyama, who in turn showed it to her father. Nada.

Over the years since Frank Fujino died, there have been dozens of books and several documentaries produced about Nisei veterans, including one by me. In the bigger picture, it’s like a mini-industry, telling the stories of all things WWII — and rightfully so, since it was the pivot point in modern history that still defines why the world is as it is, three-quarters of a century after WWII ended.

Surely, even with all the nonfictional and fictional books, movies and TV shows that have been made over the intervening decades, Frank Fujino’s story deserved to be revisited and retold. That Frank Fujino could have done what was described but also have been seemingly forgotten within the Japanese American community needed to, it seemed to me, be set right.”

For full story visit: https://www.pacificcitizen.org/finding-frank-fujino/ .

The marker for Frank Toichi Fujino. He is buried next to his wife, Yuriko Fujino, at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Photo: George Toshio Johnston.

Nisei Combatants of World War II Discuss Premonition of Death

Dr. Bugliani at Paul Sakamoto’s home in Hilo, Hawaii. Photo: Courtesy of Ann Bugliani. 

JAVA Research Team (JRT)

Washington, DC. News writer Sarah Shoen has an article posted on the internet, entitled What are Precognitive (Premonition) Dreams?, which was updated on July 15, 2021, and reviewed by Dr. Abhinav Singh, sleep physician. Shoen in discussing instances in which dreams have been premonitions wrote, “Lincoln dreamed of people sobbing, and in his dream, he went to investigate. In the East Room of the White House, he found a corpse dressed for a funeral. Lincoln asked the figures in the dream what happened. One reported to him that the president was assassinated. In reporting this dream to Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln’s friend and law partner, Lincoln appeared disturbed and frightened. Later, Lincoln clarified the dream to Lamon. The president assassinated in his dream was not Lincoln himself, but some other president. This was the dream he had just nights before his assassination on April 14, 1865.”

Interestingly, three Nisei who served in combat zones during World War II also experienced a premonition of death. In an article written for the March 2009 issue of JAVA Advocate, Dr. Americo Bugliani, an American who was born and raised in Italy, wrote about Paul Sakamoto, an infantryman of the 100th Battalion, which was then fighting in the Pietrasanta area. As a child, Americo and his friends visited the Army camps to beg for scraps of food. On one foraging outing, Americo described the generosity of Paul Sakamoto. Paul gave Americo nearly all of his personal items -- Colgate toothpaste, toothbrush, woolen Class A cap, clothing, and a photo of himself. In 1954, Americo moved to the U.S. and later that year was drafted and served as an interpreter in Germany and Italy. After discharge, he went to Chicago, where he attended night school. He eventually received a PhD from Northwestern University and then became a professor at the University of Illinois. In 1991, he joined the Chicago Nisei American Legion post where he eventually was elected commander — a proud connection to the Nisei. Often thinking about Paul, Americo started looking for him first on the west coast, then Hawaii. Americo learned from 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans, Hawaii, that Paul was living in Hilo where he retired. Americo and Paul connected and they enjoyed a warm reunion. Americo and his wife Ann and Paul and his wife Jane would begin a lifetime friendship. Americo reminded Paul of the personal items he had received from Paul. Americo asked, “but why did he also give me the woolen cap?" Paul replied, “I felt I didn’t need anything anymore. . . . I thought I was going to get killed that day.”   

Gunner Kenje Ogata with flight crew, standing second from right. Photo: Courtesy of Kenjalin Ogata.

Kenjalin Ogata, daughter of Dr. Kenje Ogata, one of the approximately five Nisei who served in bombers as gunners during World War II, wrote about her father’s experience in the Summer 2018 JAVA Advocate. She graciously agreed to rewrite that story to include her Dad’s premonition as follows. 

Ogata went to the enlistment center the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He had a pilot’s license, and volunteered to serve in the Army Air Corps, but found himself in the medical corps at Camp Grant instead. Only after two years of repeated applications was he granted a transfer to the Air Corps’ gunnery school. Following training, he was assigned to the 15th Air Corps in Foggia, Italy as a ball turret gunner, in the belly of a B-24 Liberator (bomber).

On the return flight after bombing the rail yards of Oswiecim, Poland on December 26, 1944, Ogata’s plane was hit by artillery and all men were ordered to bail out. Ogata was the last to jump out. As he pulled the ripcord he felt a strong hand helping him and when his parachute opened he heard music, the sound of a beautiful choir. Ogata’s oral history tape said the night before this mission he had a premonition he would be shot down and killed. He landed safely but separated from the crew and did not know if he was in friendly or enemy territory. He started walking, heard dogs bark, it was getting dark and he came upon a haystack. He hid himself and his parachute in the haystack and fell asleep. Ogata’s drop zone was in Hungary. The next morning, as he started to walk he met a farmer who led Ogata to the village of Magyarkeszi where other members of the crew had spent the night with a family named Markas. Russians assisted the crew to return to their base. In Spring, 1945, Kenje’s bomber was forced down again by enemy artillery and force landed on an airstrip in Yugoslavia controlled by US, British, and Yugoslav partisans. The plane exploded after all men evacuated from the plane. Ogata flew 35 missions and was discharged on June 7, 1945. Forty years later Ogata and his wife visited Magyarkeszi where they enjoyed a warm reunion with Markas.

Michelle Amano discussed her great uncle, Ben Frank Masaoka’s premonition at the Japanese American Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery on May 31, 2021, as reported in the JAVA e-Advocate July 1, 2021 issue. 

Ben and four brothers, including her great grandfather, Mike Masaoka, volunteered to serve in the 442nd RCT. One brother later transferred to be a paratrooper. The article said “Uncle Ben served in Company B, 100th Battalion and was subsequently transferred to Company E, 2nd Battalion. Following ten days of intense fighting to liberate Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine, and other towns, the 442nd was pulled back to a safe zone for rest, hot showers, and hot meals. But this did not happen. Instead, they were ordered the next morning to return to the Vosges forests to rescue a Texas battalion that was trapped by the Germans. After five days of bitter combat under conditions of rain, sleet, and snow, 211 Texans were rescued.

After a period of intense combat, Ben was assigned to a position in a relatively safe zone. One day, Uncle Ben visited Grandpa Mike at his Public Relations Office in Service Company. Uncle Ben told Grandpa he was planning to return to the front line. 'I just wanted to let you know.' Grandpa Mike asked why take the risk, why not stay where you are. Uncle Ben said 'Yeah, the Colonel said the same thing. The Colonel said I did not have to go but he would not stop me if I really wanted to go.' Uncle Ben said, 'The boys on the front line were getting hit hard taking a lot of casualties and he felt he ought to be there.' Uncle Ben had made up his mind, and he just wanted to tell Grandpa Mike what he was going to do. Before Uncle Ben left he turned to Grandpa and said, 'Here Mike, this is something I made for you.' It was a ring. In his spare time, Ben had carved a hole in the center of a 25 cent piece and had painstakingly beaten it into a plain silver ring with whatever crude tools were available to him. Later that evening, after dark, uncle Ben had gone out on a patrol. The patrol ran into a German ambush. Uncle Ben was apparently shot and his body was not recovered. Grandpa obtained approval to visit the forest area where uncle Ben fought and together with the men of B Company, they searched for Uncle Ben.

Grandpa had hopes that uncle Ben was taken prisoner by the Germans. But when Uncle Ben’s dog tags were found, Grandpa Mike feared that Ben was killed, and not taken prisoner. A couple of years after that, Grandpa and the family received an Army report that Ben’s grave was found in the Vosges forests. The sense of comradeship, Uncle Ben’s sense of obligation to be with his buddies in time of danger was one of the silent hallmarks of the 442nd Regimental combat team’s great combat record. Grandpa Mike almost instinctively knew that this exchange of brotherly love was Ben’s way of saying goodbye. While few words were exchanged, this encounter and the memory of it stayed with my Grandpa for his entire life."

You Don’t Know Jack

details the life of groundbreaking actor and singer Jack Soo

DEFYING STEREOTYPES. In the 1970s, Jack Soo’s brand of humor and wit endeared him to viewers of the sitcom “Barney Miller,” where he played detective Nick Yemana. Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Adachi.

Story by Maileen Hamto

Reprinted with Permission, The Asian Reporter www.asianreporter.com, V22, #09 on May 7, 2012

Positive images and portrayals of Asian-American males are a rare sight in mainstream media, even today. Beyond martial-arts heroes and brainy, nerdy sidekicks, film and television roles involving Asian-American men who transcend those stereotypes are few and far between. That’s why Jeff Adachi’s documentary You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story is an important telling of the life of a highly talented comedian, singer, and actor who broke through traditional portrayals.

In 1963, at a time when roles for Asian Americans were nil to nonexistent, Jack Soo became widely known for being the first Asian-American male cast in a lead, mainstream role in "Valentine’s Day," a television comedy series. His comedic career closely followed his musical accomplishments: Soo was part of the history-making cast of the 1961 film Flower Drum Song. The film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit propelled Soo to further name recognition.

Soo was also the first non-African American signed with Motown Records, where he became widely known as the "Asian Bing Crosby." In the 1970s, his brand of humor and wit endeared him to viewers of the sitcom "Barney Miller," where he played detective Nick Yemana.

Soo’s journey as a regular in the living rooms of heartland America did not come easy. Through interviews with Soo’s childhood friends, colleagues, family members, and Asian-American actors who revere Soo, Adachi excels in creating a portrait of a man who lived through the Japanese internment, one of the most harrowing episodes in American civil rights, to emerge as a pioneering role model for Asian-American performers of all generations.

Born in 1917 to Japanese immigrant parents, Jack Soo began life as Goro Suzuki in Oakland, California. As a student, he excelled in sports, playing basketball, football, and baseball. He got his start performing as part of the choir for a Methodist church attended in large part by Oakland’s Japanese-American community. By the time "Goro" was a teenager, he was gaining a following as a singer at nightclubs and on the talent show circuit.

Soo was 25 years old when exclusion and imprisonment of Americans of Japanese descent became law throughout the west coast. Even during internment, Soo stayed in character. At the Tanforan Assembly Center and later at the Topaz Relocation Center, he organized performances involving community members to sing and perform skits and theater works. Soo encouraged people to write jokes and songs that encapsulated the experience of internment.

"He made us forget our troubles for a few hours," says one childhood friend.

After World War II and newly released from internment, Soo found it difficult to find work in the entertainment industry with the last name "Suzuki," as anti-Japanese sentiment remained strong for many years following the war.

Early in his career, he lost a job in radio because he was suspected as an "enemy alien." In order to secure work, he decided to Anglicize his first name and shorten his last name to "Soo," to pass as Chinese. Only then was he able to find regular work doing what he loved: working as a nightclub comic, emcee, and singer.

Actor George Takei lauds Soo for his determination and hunger to achieve his goals. "Jack Soo became a performer despite the experience of internment. Despite the experience of prejudice and hatred," he says.

Beyond his exemplary talents in comedy and music, Soo’s true and lasting legacy is in the roles he chose to play onscreen. Although roles were scarce for Asian Americans, Soo made a deliberate and conscious effort to seek mainstream characters to portray on television. In "Valentine’s Day," he played a charming conman, a cool-cat hipster who could get away with virtually anything. In "Barney Miller," he was a thoughtful and laid-back police officer who had a reputation in the precinct for making bad coffee.

Let Soo be remembered for standing his ground on the roles he took on as an actor, choosing breakthrough characters who defied stereotypes of Asian-ness. As George Takei eloquently put it: "Jack Soo is the quintessential all-American with an Asian-American face."

You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story air[ed] Friday, May 25, 2012 at 11:30pm on Oregon Public Broadcasting with a replay scheduled May 26, 2012 at 4:30am. To learn more, visit www.opb.org or www.jacksoo.com.

To access the story on line visit: 

http://www.asianreporter.com/film/2012/09-jacksoo.htm.

[EdNote: JAVA member Mary Murakami shared her memories of Jack Soo:  "Of course I remember Jack Soo, but as Goro Suzuki from days before going to Tranforan in San Francisco. In Tranforan we would sit in the grandstand during the talent show and Goro would sing standing on the racetrack.....In Topaz, his brother was my classmate." JAVA wishes to thank member Rod Azama for sharing this article.]

Washington Spirit's

Japanese Heritage Night

Executive Council Members CAPT (Dr.) Cynthia Macri, MC, USN (Ret.), and Dawn Eilenberger, J.D., represented JAVA at Japanese Heritage Night at Audi Field, Washington DC, on August 22. Cynthia and Dawn are members of the Northern Virginia Majestics Adult Women's Amateur Over-50 soccer national championship team (2021), sponsored by WAGS (Women and Girls in Soccer, Inc.). Besides watching the Washington Spirit, DC's professional women's soccer team, score a victory over the Orlando Pride, they enjoyed stadium festivities, including a video message from Ambassador Tomita and a taiko drum performance. Photo: Courtesy of Dawn Eilenberger. 

C Company, 100^th Battalion, 442^nd Infantry Regiment’s Repositioned from American Samoa to Washington State

BG Timothy Connelly, Commanding General for the 9th Mission Support Command, speaks to Charlie Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, after they conducted a Live Fire Exercise during their Annual Training at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island of Hawaii in July 2021. American Samoa bids a warm “Tofa Soifua” to the distinguished, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment’s Charlie Company, as they transition from American Samoa to Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington. Photo: MAJ Melodie Tafao. 

American Samoa, a U.S. territory with a land area of 77 squares miles and a population of roughly 56,000 people, yields the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. State or territory. Yet, the island bids a warm “Tofa Soifua” to the distinguished, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment’s Charlie Company, as they transition from American Samoa (AS) to Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), Washington. No unit in the Army Reserve is more famed historically than the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, designated the unit with the most medal of honors of all in the entire U.S. Army. The 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment has five companies, dispersed across the Pacific, and continues the “Go For Broke” legacy as the sole Infantry Battalion in the Army.

Although Charlie Company has had a footprint in American Samoa since 1980, maintaining the unit’s strength has been a challenge. Deputy Commander - Operations for the 9th Mission Support Command, COL Wayne Dehaney, explained the need for the move.  “Charlie Company continued to face challenges recruiting personnel for the Infantry in American Samoa,” explained Dehaney. “It is important to note that there is not a recruiting problem in American Samoa, just recruiting infantry personnel in the Army Reserve. American Samoa has its fair share of infantry personnel recruited, but most of them choose to join the active duty component vs the reserve component.”  Most of the recruits for the Army Reserve in American Samoa, choose a Military Occupational Specialty that could be utilized in their community. “All the other Army Reserve units in American Samoa are over 100% strength,” Dehaney said. This includes the 411th Engineer Battalion Forward Support Company, Reserve.

American Samoa is still home to Bravo Company, a rifle company identical to Charlie Company, to provide infantry opportunities to the community.  The transition from American Samoa to the state of Washington will provide Charlie Company with additional training opportunities. Charlie Company is scheduled for an activation ceremony in October at JBLM and a casing ceremony of the guidon in American Samoa. Regardless of where Charlie Company resides, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry will continue its legacy: Go For Broke! Pride of the Pacific!  

[EdNote. This article was adapted.  The full article can be found in this link. https://www.dvidshub.net/news/403579/go-broke-jblm-army-reserve-infantry-unit-relocates-across-pacific.]

"September 17 [was] National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Every third Friday in September, we remember the hardships endured by Americans captured during war, the loss of those still missing and unaccounted for, and the continuing grief borne by more than 81 thousand families awaiting news of their loved ones. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) reports that 1,584 of that number (1,556 military, 28 civilian) are from the Vietnam War...

Another important national observation in September was established 85 years ago when Congress resolved that the last Sunday in the month would be set aside to honor America’s Gold Star Mothers. Ever since, it has been observed annually by presidential proclamation. In 2012, this day was expanded and renamed as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day, which this year will be observed on September 26. In addition, earlier this year Congress instituted another Gold Star recognition day, this time for children. Senate Resolution 328 designated August 1, 2021 as Gold Star Children’s Day, which honored the sacrifices and hardships of the children of fallen service members. The Gold Star Families Memorial Monument pictured above, which honors all Gold Star designees, has been or is in the progress of being installed in all 50 states and one U.S. territory.

We hope you will invest time during both of these significant national observances to remember and honor the monumental sacrifices endured by these families."

To access the “SITREP” 2021 – Issue 8" newletter, click here.

JAVA 2022 Elections

Call for Nominations!

In accordance with JAVA’s By-laws, the Nominations Committee is preparing to nominate JAVA members for each of the four elected Offices: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. 

Should you desire to be considered for one of those positions, please submit your name and a short summary (no more than one page) of your qualifications and desire to run for any of the elected offices. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, December 1, 2021. These Officers will serve a two year term beginning in February 2022. Your submissions should be sent to Nominations Chair Dawn Eilenberger at dawn.eilenberger@java-us.org.

Election Timeline:

• Slate of Candidates will be presented to the membership on January 2, 2022.
• Email voting will take place from January 2 to 28, 2022.
• Proxy email voting will take place from January 2 to 26, 2022.
• Election results will be announced at the General Membership Meeting on February 5, 2020.

JAVA 2022 Awards

Call for Recommendations!

The JAVA Awards Committee is seeking recommendations for 2022 JAVA Awards Ceremony. Please consider the Awards listed below and send recommendations to George Ishikata, JAVA Awards Committee Chair, at George.Ishikata@java-us.org by October 15, 2021. When nominating a candidate, please submit a justification for the award.  

The Courage, Honor, and Patriotism Award is JAVA’s highest award.  Started in 2005, this award honors a person (in either the public or private sector) who has performed outstanding work to benefit the nation – including Japanese Americans – over a sustained period of time.

Terry T. Shima Leadership Award.  Started in 2012, this award recognizes exemplary meritorious conduct in service and achievements in support of JAVA's goals and missions, for veterans, and for leadership portrayed.  The award also recognizes outstanding visionary leadership.

JAVA Veterans' Advocate Award.  Started in 2008, this award recognizes individuals who have supported JAVA’s perpetuation of the Japanese American World War II legacy.

JAVA Service Pin.  Presented to any awardee of a JAVA award who has served JAVA substantively over a considerable period of time.

JAVA Research Team Needs Your Help!

Your JAVA Research Team (JRT) is looking for assistance to the questions below. Can you help us? If so, please email javapotomac@gmail.com. Thank you!

1. In the Pacific Theater, Nisei on the front lines obtained intelligence information which disclosed enemy attack plans. This actionable intelligence was passed to Caucasian commanders who used this intelligence to prepare counter attacks. The value of the intelligence was it saved American lives and won battles. Do you know, or know of someone who knows, of any living company, battalion, regimental or Division commander who benefited from the intelligence produced by Nisei?  
2. At the end of WW II, Caucasians who served alongside the Nisei MISers spoke publicly to support Nisei on their return to their homes on the West Coast.  Do you know, or know of someone who knows, the names of such Caucasian soldiers?

New Members  

  
JAVA sends a warm Aloha to our new Veterans as well as new Friends of JAVA.

War Veterans

LT Kenta Akaogi, USN

Alexander Chan, USN / USNR      

PO2 Taku Donnelly, USN

Matthew Franklin, USA

LTC Roy Horikawa, USA (Ret)

Roy Imamura, USA

Ryo Ishimaru, USMC

TK Kita, USA

CAPT Tadamine Kitaguchi, USA

2LT Griffin Matsuo, USA  

LTC Brian McIlvaine, ARNG (Ret)

David Serikaku, USA

Robert Shellhorn, USA 

MAJ Hazumu Yano, USA 

General Members

Shirley Fujii

Lauren Harris 

Gale Lewis

Donations      

JAVA offers a heartfelt thanks to our generous members and friends for their gifts, memorials, and tributes given in support of our mission, events, and scholarships. We are truly grateful.

Anonymous, In Memory of Robert Katsumi Mizumoto, 100th Bn, Charlie Co.

Tatiana Hartmann, In Appreciation for LTG (R) James Huggins' presentation at Ivey Business School

Michi Hewitt, General Fund

Lynn Kanaya, In Memory of COL Jimmie Kanaya, USA

Mindy Kotler, General Fund

Dr. James T. McIlwain, In Memory of Susumu Ito, 522nd FAB

Commander George Miyada-Tolbert, USCG, In Memory of Son, Rayburn H. Miyada-Tolbert 

Gerald and Nancy Yamada, In Memory of COL Jimmie Kanaya, USA    

Questions or Suggestions: Please contact Neet Ford at javapotomac@gmail.com.

Japanese American Veterans Association:  Address: P.O. Box 341198, Bethesda, MD 20827 I www.java-us.org

Facebook  • Twitter •  LinkedIn • Donate