Tulare County Operation Diploma Ceremony

December 7, 2005

      The purpose of the Tulare County Operation Diploma Ceremony program was to award diplomas to veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as well as citizens interned during World War II in relocation camps, who may have missed their graduation because of their service or internment.  

      Special Events Coordinator, Nancy (Hanada) Bellin (Poston 326-4-A) , introduced the honorees individually and then they were presented with a diploma by Board President Leonard Hansen and County Superintendent Jim Vidak.  Ms. Bellin said that all the applicants spoke of a desire to obtain a high school diploma, which many of us take for granted.  She also thanked Jim Vidak for making this day possible.  

    

       Nancy Bellin introduced a life-long friend, Dr. Sam Katano (Poston 326-2-A ) , who spoke on behalf of the local Japanese-American community.  He extended congratulations to those being honored at today's ceremony and expressed his appreciation to the County superintendent for establishing the "Operation Diploma" program in Tulare County.  He said that many Japanese-Americans who lived in WW II internment camps never receive their diplomas.

     For Mollie (Abe) Osato (Poston 305-11-B) , this ceremony came nearly 60 years after she attended Orosi High School and left her junior year because she and her family were interned in Arizona.  There was hardly a "dry eye" in the Education Center when Mrs. Osato accepted her high school diplomas with her faithful husband, Masashi Osato (Poston  305-6-CD) , by her side.  Ms. Bellin said that Mollie and her husband, Masashi, own a ranch in Orosi and that she is very active in her local community. 

      Linda Shiba, a technician  in External Business Services, accepted a diploma on behalf of her sister-in-law, Lydia Hatsuki (Nagata) Shiba (Poston 305-11-C) . 

      Diplomas for Mitsunobu George Kiritani (Poston 309-1-A), Mae S. Yamada and Isaac Kelly Kageyama (Poston 305-1-A) were accepted posthumously by Rose (Shiba) Abe (Poston block 309), a good friend of Nancy Bellin.   

     Mrs. Abe remained at the podium to accept diplomas on behalf of Velma Natsuko Kurihara (Poston 305-12-D),  Sumiye Naito, and Yuriko Katsuki who were unable to attend the ceremony.

 Source: Tulare County Board of Education Minutes December 7, 2005, Visalia, CA.

 Accessed at: http://www.tcoe.k12.ca.us/Commitment/Minutes2005_12.pdf

Insinuations and Innuendo About Internment

 Thu, Dec 22 2011

 By Floyd Mori

(The following letter was sent on Dec. 19 to New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson by Floyd Mori, National Executive Director of the JACL.)

     The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is gravely concerned by an article entitled “The How of an Internment, but Not All the Whys,” written by Edward Rothstein and printed in The New York Times on Dec. 10, 2011.

     While we appreciate the author’s recognition of the historical significance of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, his critiques of the museum contain problematic views on the Japanese American community’s role in World War II.

     Time and time again it has been proven that the internment of Americans of Japanese descent was not a military necessity, but the result of wartime hysteria and racism. In 1983 the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), a group appointed by Congress, found that the Japanese American community was not a sufficient threat to national security to justify internment and called the decision to incarcerate Japanese Americans a failure of political leadership.

     The United States government has condemned its actions and paid redress to those affected by internment. Just last month Congress bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Battalion, and the Military Intelligence Service. These all-Japanese American units were recognized for their courage in risking their lives for a country that did not accept them.

     Mr. Rothstein’s review perpetuates a damaging and misleading notion that conflates Japanese Americans with the Japanese and calls their loyalty and patriotism into question. If Mr. Rothstein found the information at Heart Mountain insufficient to explain the context of internment, he could have consulted academic literature before insinuating that the information at Heart Mountain is overlooking a threatening connection between Japanese Americans and Japanese enemies during World War II.

     These insinuations have no place in 2011, especially in a major news outlet such as The New York Times.

     Insinuations that raise suspicions — such as Mr. Rothstein’s — are a critical issue; Congress has seen fit to pass legislation allowing the same kind of neglect of due process with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Again we see the same failure to recognize that war is not an excuse to overlook the Constitution and rely on race and religion to determine a person’s right to basic civil rights.

     Due process and equal protection under the law are core values of this nation that must not be compromised by innuendo.

     We call on The New York Times to publish information on Japanese American internment that is informed by rigorous, academic research. It is essential in this political climate that we have media that uphold the truth and provide fair characterizations of its subjects.

Source: http://rafu.com/news/2011/12/insinuations-and-innuendo-about-internment/