A special memory

A special Memorial Day service will be held at Roeding Park at 9 a.m. Monday, May 28, to honor Japanese American soldiers who've lost their lives defending this country. The Nisei War Memorial, located in the northeast quadrant of the park, was established in 1951 to honor Nisei soldiers who fought in Europe and the Pacific while many of their family members were being held in relocation camps scattered around remote parts of the United States.

Korean and Vietnam war veterans who died fighting for their country had their names added later.

The saga of the Nisei soldiers in World War II is an uplifting coda to the sad story of incarceration of people, many of them citizens, solely because of their ethnicity. It's an important lesson, one that we should always remember, lest we run the risk of repeating the tragedy.

More information may be obtained by contacting Bobbi Hanada, governor of the Central California District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League, at BHanada@aol.com or (559) 960-0852.

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