Munster man to be honored at nation's Capitol for service during WWII
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| George T. Okamoto |
October 18, 2011
MUNSTER, INDIANA--A local man will be honored in Washington, D.C., later this month as part of a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring formerly imprisoned Japanese-Americans.
George T. Okamoto (Poston 12-5-AB) , 87, of Munster, Indiana was one of 120,000 Japanese-Americans who was imprisoned in internment camps after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. He will be among the Nisei veterans honored in Washington, D.C., at the end of this month as part of a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring formerly imprisoned Japanese-Americans.
The three-day ceremony honors Japanese-American veterans who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and in the Military Intelligence Service.
During World War II, Okamoto and his family were forcibly evacuated from southern California and imprisoned in the desert at the Poston, Arizona internment camp block 12-5-AB . In 1943, George volunteered and joined the all Nisei 44nd RCT. He fought in the European theater with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Company I, and was injured while in Italy.
After the war, he moved to Chicago to work as an artist in advertising. Later, he married and had a family of five children.
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