Skeleton identified as lost hiker from Manzanar

Giichi Matsumura died during a fishing trip in 1945 when he got caught in a snowstorm.



A skeleton found by hikers last fall near California's second-highest peak has been identified as a Japanese American artist who had left the incarceration camp at Manzanar to paint in the mountains during the last days of World War II.

Giichi Matsumura was on a hiking trip on July 29, 1945 when he stopped to paint a watercolor, intending to catch up later with his group. He got caught in a freak summer snowstorm and died. His remains were later recovered and buried in the mountains, but the remote gravesite was lost to time.

Last October, hikers stumbled across an intact human skeleton while on their way to the top of Mount Williamson. Authorities used DNA to determine that the skeleton was indeed the remains of Matsumura.

More here: Skeleton found by Sierra hikers is that of Manzanar internee

Drunk Randall Park tells the Drunk History of Frank Emi

Starring Aaron Takahashi as Frank Emi.



The premise of Drunk History is fairly simple. People go on camera and narrate the story of a noteworthy historical figure or moment... while drunk. Then they present a re-enactment of this alcohol-fueled account.

On the latest episode of the hit Comedy Central series, Fresh Off The Boat star Randall Park gets liquored up and tells the story of civil rights activist Frank Emi, played here by Aaron Takahashi. Incarcerated at Heart Mountain during World War II, Emi protested against the drafting of Japanese Americans into military service.

An important part of the story of Japanese American incarceration, told under the influence, burps and all.

This Is Who The FBI Came For After Pearl Harbor

Remember the lives lost and the lives forever changed.



Today, December 7, marks the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Hours following the attack, the FBI began rounding up and detaining leaders in the Japanese American community from their homes without due process of law. Filmmaker Tad Nakamura's grandfather was one of those taken.

This one-minute video for the Nikkei Democracy Project, made with documentary footage from Something Strong Within (by Tad's parents, Bob Nakamura and Karen Ishizuka), is not only a reminder of lives lost in the attack, but the lives forever changed by fear and bigotry.

Filipino veterans to receive Congressional Gold Medal

In recognition of their U.S. military service and sacrifices during World War II.



It's about damn time.

This week, Filipino veterans of World War II will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, after a lengthy battle for national recognition of their U.S. military service and sacrifices nearly 75 years ago.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award in the United States. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol to honor the 260,000 Filipino soldiers who fought alongside American forces during the war and more than 57,000 Filipino troops who died.

More here: Fought and forgotten: Filipino World War II veterans honored with medal 75 years later

Watch the trailer for 'Go For Broke' - A 442 Origins Story

Film tells the story of the most decorated combat unit in American military history.



Go For Broke, a 442 Origins Story, is a Hawaii-based, non-commercial education multi-part film project that aims to tell the complete story of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service.

The first film, Go For Broke, follows a group of University of Hawaii ROTC students during the tumultuous year after the attack on Pearl Harbor as they navigate wartime Hawaii and fight discrimination by forming the Varsity Victory Volunteers. The brave actions of these young Japanese Americans, along with the perseverance of the original 100th Infantry Battalion draftees from Hawaii, directly led to the formation of the all-Japanese fighting unit -- the 442nd -- the most decorated combat unit in American military history.

Here's the recently released first trailer for Go For Broke:

Sports writer fired for racist tweet about Indy 500 winner

"I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend."



On Sunday, Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver ever to win the Indianopolis 500. Which was cool... but not so cool for one Denver sportswriter, who expressed on Twitter that he was "uncomfortable" with a Japanese man winning the storied motor race on Memorial Day weekend -- a tweet that promptly got him fired.

Not long after Sato crossed the finish line of America's most prestigious motorsports race, Terry Frei, a sportswriter for the Denver Post, farted out this ridiculous, thoughtlessly racist tweet trying to somehow draw an unfortunate connection between a Japanese driver winning the Indy 500 -- who says Asians can't drive? -- and the fact that he did so on a holiday meant to honor those who died while serving in the country's armed forces.

No, the Ni’ihau Incident did NOT lead to FDR signing Executive Order 9066

Guest Post by Joseph Shoji Lachman


A comparison of lead actor and Benehakaka Kanahele, the man he is portraying. The resemblance is lacking, to say the least. (Via Shutterstock and Hawaii Reporter)

According to Deadline, Zach McGowan will star in the historical film Ni'ihau, directed by Gabriel Robertson and set in Hawaii during World War II. He will portray Benehakaka Kanahele, a native Hawaiian who received the Medal for Merit and Purple Heart for his part in killing the pilot of a downed Imperial Japanese plane in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

You'll probably notice that Zach McGowan doesn't bear much of a resemblance to Kanahele, and it's even more of a stretch than casting Emma Stone as part Hawaiian in Aloha. Once again, members of the API community will watch as they are portrayed in media by white replacements. At this point, we are frustrated, but hardly surprised when this happens. Pacific Islanders have been abused throughout the U.S.'s history, and this appears to be just another manifestation of that shameful legacy.

To our surprise, however, this may not even be the worst of it.

What is disturbing here is the historical denialism bubbling up from under the surface.

Take a look at this quotation from the Deadline article:

This Old Headline Reminds Us That Some Things Change... and Some Things Don't.

"This boy was born here and has every right of an American citizen."



There's nothing like a 75-year-old newspaper headline to remind you that some things, unfortunately, do not change. This front page Seattle Times story from April 24, 1942 reports on a man who was charged and found guilty of dragging a Junior Safety Patrol member from a school crossing because the boy was Japanese.

11-year-old Roy Tsuboi, a member of the Junior Safety Patrol, was on duty when 67-year-old Karl R. Paykull reportedly grabbed him, dragged him down the street and forced him into a car in an attempt to take him to police headquarters. With the United States currently at war with Japan, this guy apparently thought a Japanese American kid shouldn't be allowed to, um, help people safely cross the street.

Filipino veterans to be awarded Congressional Gold Medal

President Obama signs the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act.



On Thursday, President Obama signed the "Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act," awarding a Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor, to the thousands of Filipino veterans who fought for the United States during World War II.

S. 1555, sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Tulsi Gabbard, honors more than 260,000 Filipino and Filipino American soldiers who fought under U.S. command during the second world war. The bill unanimously passed in both chambers of Congress earlier this year.

"The Filipino veterans of World War II overcame many challenges in their fight for compensation, family reunification, and verification of wartime service," Senator Hirono said in a statement, calling the medal a long overdue but fitting tribute. "By signing our bill into law, President Obama recognized these veterans' courage and perseverance, both during the war and in the decades of battles for benefits that followed."

A Response To Letters Defending The Japanese Internment In The LA Times

Don't let people distort this history or it could be repeated again. Guest Post by Joseph Shoji Lachman.



This is a response to "Were the stories about Japanese internment during World War II unbalanced? Two letter writers think so" in the LA Times. Here is a reminder of something else they published many years ago:

A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched—so a Japanese-American, born of Japanese parents—grows up to be a Japanese, not an American. — Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1942 (Source)

I had hoped we had learned a lesson and moved past this kind of hateful rhetoric, but it seems history is trying to repeat itself.

On December 7th, the U.S. commemorated the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, a truly horrific tragedy that will live on in American memory forever. In our household, we also remember December 6th. Two years ago on that day my grandmother, Margaret Shoji, passed away. My only regret was that I never talked to her about her experiences during the Internment, when our family and 120,000 other people of Japanese descent were denied basic rights, and forced into the internment camps. This was a civil rights travesty and one of the most shameful episodes of American history. But we all know that, don't we?

Apparently, we are supposed to have an "open debate" about the Internment, including justifications and rationalizations of what happened. I was surprised to see a "rational" defense of the Internment appearing in the LA Times in 2016, but I decided to respond as best I could below.

Los Angeles Times publishes letters in defense of internment

"The interned Japanese were housed, fed, protected and cared for."



This is some kind of bullshit.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times published two letters from readers arguing that the forced mass removal and incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II was necessary and justified.

The letters, published in the paper's print and online editions, were sent in response to a story by Carolina A. Miranda that ran last month regarding the internment camps. The letter-writers call Miranda's article "unbalanced," and attempt to make the case that "internment" was an imperative wartime measure.

One of the letter-writers, identifying himself as Steve Hawes, calls Miranda's reporting "another anti-U.S. remake of history," and argues that the internment was, in effect, ultimately for the good of "the Japanese." The other letter, penned by Dick Venn, calls for "a little bit balance" in Miranda's "one-way reporting."

No. Get out of here with that shit.

Congress passes bill to honor Filipino World War II veterans

House passes the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act.



On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S.1555, the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, recognizing Filipino veterans who fought for the United States during World War II with a Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor.

S.1555, sponsored by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), honors more than 260,000 Filipino and Filipino American soldiers who fought under U.s. command during the second world war. The Senate passed this bill unanimously over the summer, and it will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, applauded the passage of the bill and called the recognition of Filipino veterans "long overdue."

"During World War II, more than 200,000 Filipino soldiers served bravely alongside American forces and played a critical role in ultimately helping the United States to achieve victory in the Pacific," Chu said. "We in CAPAC have made it a top priority to ensure that these Filipino World War II veterans receive the benefits and recognition that they deserve, and the passage of today's bill is a tremendous victory for our veterans and the broader Filipino American community."

Trump supporter cites Japanese American internment as "precedent" for Muslim registry

Sorry, but we're not falling for that shit again.



Well, that didn't take long. A week into this shit and we're already talking about internment camps. On Wednesday, a Trump surrogate made the case for creating a federal registry for immigrants from Muslim countries, citing the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as "precedent."

Japanese American internment is 'precedent' for national Muslim registry, prominent Trump backer says

How the hell did we get here? Carl Higbie, a spokesman for a major pro-Trump super PAC, appeared on Megyn Kelly's Fox News show to argue that a national database of Muslim immigrants would be legal and necessary, reminding everybody that the United States did it before with the Japanese during World War II.

He neglects to mention that it's considered one of the shittiest, darkest moments of trampling civil liberties in our nation's history. "Come on," Kelly prods back. "You're not suggesting that we go back to the days of internment camps? That's the kind of stuff that gets people scared, Carl."

Higbie insists that he's not proposing that at all. "I'm just saying there is precedent for it."

Video: Japanese American Internees Read "Letters From Camp" with Muslim Kids

Young Muslim Americans read letters written by incarcerated Japanese American during World War II.



During World War II, the United States government forcibly and unjustly incarcerated more than 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans without due process. Half of them were children.

In this short film by Frank Chi, produced for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, young Muslim Americans read letters written by Japanese Americans while incarcerated in camps during World War II.

Although these two groups are separated by generations, it's a powerful reminder of the parallels -- of prejudice, persecution and perseverance -- between these two communities, and our tenuous relationship with the past, which is constantly on the brink of only a few simple, dark turns from repeating itself.

National Youth Summit on Japanese American Incarceration in World War II

Join the conversation on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.



The Japanese American National Museum will host the National Youth Summit on Japanese American Incarceration in World War II, an online outreach program organized by the museum in partnership with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The event will link middle and high school students from across the country in a webcast centered on the Japanese American incarceration and its lessons for today.

It's happening Tuesday, May 17 at 1:00-2:00pm ET. Here are some more details:

New policy allows Filipino veterans to reunite with families

USCIS announces implementation of Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program.



On Monday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the implementation of the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program that will offer certain beneficiaries an opportunity to seek parole and come to the United States to be reunited with their family members.

Under the policy, USCIS will offer certain beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions an opportunity to request a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis so that they may come to the United States as they wait for their immigrant visa numbers to become available.

Among other things, the policy recognizes the extraordinary contributions and sacrifices of Filipino veterans who fought for the United States during World War II. The policy also enhances the ability of such elderly veterans and their spouses to obtain care and support from their family members abroad.

Japanese Americans Look Back On World War II Incarceration

AJ+ talked to people who lived through the injustice of the internment.



This week marks the anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the United States government's forcible removal and mass incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans during World War II. In honor of this Day of Remembrance, AJ+ spoke to former internees who looked back and shared about their incarceration experience.

George Takei: Why I Love A Country That Once Betrayed Me

Uncle George talks about Japanese American incarceration.



This week marks the anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the United States government's mass incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans during World War II. One of those internees was famed actor/activist George Takei, whose family was removed from Los Angeles and forced into a camp in Arkansas when he was just a boy.

In this animated mini-version of his TED Talk, Uncle George shares his early recollection of being forced behind barbed wire, and reflects on both the strength and fallibility of American democracy:

Donald Trump might have supported Japanese internment

"I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer."



Donald Trump did not say that he would have been in favor of Japanese internment during World War II. But he couldn't definitively say that he wouldn't be in favor of internment. And that alone is troubling as fuck.

Exclusive: Donald Trump Says He Might Have Supported Japanese Internment

In an interview with TIME, the Republican presidential candidate said he does not know whether he would have supported or opposed the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

"I would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer," Trump said. "I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer."

The Most Idiotic Way to Commemorate December 7

Erick Erickson's parents apparently never forgave the entire continent of Asia for Pearl Harbor.



December 7 marks the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the so-called "Day of Infamy" that led to the United States' entry into World War II. Conservative pundit Erick Erickson -- who most recently was in the news for shooting a front-page New York Times editorial calling for gun control -- to share a fond childhood recollection of how his family used to observe Pearl Harbor Day: with shameless racism and xenophobia.

Erickson tweeted: