Six Speakers Sign Up at JANM

Six speakers have signed up to speak at the Vanished presentation and book signing Saturday, June 18, at 2:00 p.m. at the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles.

"I'm overjoyed," said John McReynolds, author of Vanished. "I hope there will be more. Nobody wants to hear me gab for two hours.

Besides the author, other speakers will be Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi, Rev. Ed Iwamoto, Jean Nakashima Tekawa, May Murakami Musenga, and Kuni Inouye Omura, all of them onetime residents of Lompoc, followed by Mike Mori, son of a former resident, and Dr. Kent Haldan, whose research was instrumental in the writing of the book.

The draft agenda calls for a welcome by Koji Sakai of JANM, introductions of the attendees, remarks by Mr. McReynolds, comments by the speakers listed and social hour/book signing.

The museum is located at 369 East First Street in downtown Los Angeles.

JANM Presentation Draws Near

Our presentation on Vanished: Lompoc’s Japanese at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles is less than three weeks away on Saturday, June 18.

We are looking now for those who once lived in Lompoc who would like to speak.

Just a few words, it does not need to be a long speech. If you know somebody who woul like to do that, please RSVP. And tell us which memory or observation you would most like to share. The best way to let us know would be by e-mail to lompocwriter@gmail.com

If you cannot come in person, we still have a way in which you could participate! Do you have a Skype account on your computer? (they’re free). If so we can conduct a brief interview with you by Skype! We are making a list now of those who cannot come in person but could be connected for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon, June 18. Your picture would go up on the screen and people could hear you as you talk. The entire event will be recorded by JANM.

If you are interested in participating in this way, please contact Mike Mori at mmori@hw.com or 818-523-5510.

Solicitor General Admits Suppression of Evidence

The Acting Solicitor General of the United States has admitted that the government deliberately withheld evidence from the Supreme Court in 1943 and 1944 as the Nikkei community was swept out of California and incarcerated.

The extraordinary admission was made on Tuesday by Solicitor General Neal Katyal who said that U.S. Naval Intelligence had issued a report saying that the Nikkei community posed no military threat, that there was no evidence Japanese Americans were disloyal or were acting as spies as government officials claimed.

The report however was not presented in the Hirabayashi case or the Korematsu case, both of which challenged President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.  Solicitor General at the time, Charles Fahy, was told that not presenting the report would be considered “suppression of evidence” yet he took no action.

Fahy, who died in 1979, also neglected to tell the court that information that Japanese-Americans "were using radio transmitters to communicate with enemy submarines off the West Coast had been discredited by the FBI" and the Federal Communications Commission, Katyal wrote

“It seemed obvious to me we had made a mistake,” said Katyal. “The duty of candor wasn’t met.”

Hiding the truth, he said, “harmed the court, and it harmed 120,000 Japanese Americans. It harmed our reputation as lawyers and as human beings, and it harmed our commitment to those words on the court’s building: ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’”

Here are links to the story.

http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2011/05/24/D9NDLIVO1_us_wwii_internment_justice_department_apology/index.html

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/acting_sg_katyal_tells_of_mistakes_by_a_predecessor_in_world_war_ii_koremat/

http://hosted2.ap.org/CAVAN/7d8cc182f2be4ace870269f44557ee9a/Article_2011-05-24-US-WWII-Internment-Justice-Department-Apology/id-fddd151494c342b2be55bce2d3fe5158  

Meeting Dr. Don Hata

Signing books at the Heritage Source booth Saturday at USC at the Los Angeles Times Book Fair was an honor and a pleasure.

One of the biggest pleasures was meeting Dr. Don Hata, retired professor from Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Dr. Hata was once voted the top professor in the California State University system. He bought a copy of Vanished and I bought a copy of his Japanese Americans and World War II.

Want some inspiration? Read this about Dr. Hata.

www.csudh.edu/univadv/dateline/archives/20060403/facstaffnews/nadineanddon.htm  

Kaoru 'Bill' Honda's Memorial Service

The memorial service for Kaoru Bill Honda on Thursday offered a study in reinvention.

Some of us referred to him as Kaoru. Maybe 40% referred to him as Bill. And half the crowd of 140 called him “Billy.”

Pastor Anthony Chaboya told us what he knew of the deceased: that he came to church every Sunday wearing a suit and a smile. He was pleasant and quiet. He had retired from the U.S. Postal Service. That was Bill.

Nephew Chris Kawate talked of his uncle in Lompoc as a young man. He coached sports teams, he chaired the Presbyterian Church’s Japanese Society. He wrote to the editor in defense of the Nikkei community after December 7. And he helped form a local chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. “He was a leader,” Chris told us.

Chiyoko Iwamoto Kobayashi talked of Kaoru giving her a chance to make the only basket she ever made on the only basketball team she ever played on, a cherished memory from seventy years ago. That was the Kaoru we knew.

But the biggest group came wearing mismatched polo shirts, some even in shorts. They were all men in their sixties and seventies. They were senior citizen softball players who enjoyed competing with “Billy” on the softball field where he played second base past the age of 90. He was so unflappable at second base that a frustrated opponent once yelled “Honda, why don’t you just stay home!” They all loved “Billy” as only teammates can.

The common thread through Kaoru to Bill to Billy was integrity. He served as leader when needed. He supported others when that was needed. And he and Lucille always walked five miles a day.

Afterward, Chiyoko Iwamoto Kobayashi and her sister Miyoko Iwamoto Tachiki went to visit Kenji Ota at the Santa Barbara Convalescent Hospital.

Not having seen each other for 70 years, the first order of business was for Ota to recognize who was visiting him. After a few tips: “Lompoc,” and “Iwamoto,” Ota asked “which one?” There were five sisters, remember.

When Chiyo replied “Chiyoko,” Ota knew immediately. And his words were just as he said when Vanished was being researched.

“You’re the one at the prom,” he said.

Lucille Honda and the Iwamoto sisters hope to be with us on June 18 at the Japanese American National Museum.

Invitations Continue

Seven months after Vanished was launched, speaking engagements continue to roll in. The latest came today from the Japanese American Museum of San Jose and from the Solvang Rotary.

Thank YOU for all the word-of-mouth publicity. We are very grateful.

Kaoru "Bill" Honda Passes

Kaoru “Bill” Honda, 94, of Santa Barbara, California, died peacefully on Sunday, April 17, after a brief illness.

Mr. Honda was a leader in Lompoc’s pre-World War II Japanese-American community.  He was coach of Lompoc’s championship girls basketball squad and organized many other athletic teams. He was an officer of the local chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and chaired its inaugural meeting in August of 1941. In December 1941 he wrote to the Lompoc Record to make a "public statement of our faith in, and loyalty to, the United States" on behalf of the Japanese Society of the Presbyterian Church. 

A clerk and bookkeeper at the Iwamoto Store, he took part in the car caravan to Keetley, Utah when the Japanese-American community was ordered away from coastal California in March 1942.

Recently he was a key participant in recapturing the history of the Nikkei community in Lompoc. He is pictured on this website with two of the players from the girls team.

He was born December 8, 1916, in Lompoc, the son of Senmatsu and Sumi Yura Honda, who worked for Burpee Seed Company. He was the oldest of three brothers. He graduated from Lompoc High in 1934. From 1942 to 1959, Bill lived in Utah where he was married to Lucille Kawate in 1954. They relocated to Santa Barbara in 1959. Bill retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 32 years of dedicated service.

He was a very avid walker, bowler and softball player well into his 80s and early 90s. In 1997, Kaoru was inducted into the Japanese American National Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Lucille; sons Clifford of Canoga Park, CA; David and wife Cindy of Vail, CO; Paul and wife Marie of Diamond Bar, CA; and Mark and wife Marian of Bothell, WA; grandchildren Davey, Katy, William, Natalie and Daniel; and many nephews, nieces and good friends.

A memorial service will held at 12:00 pm on Thursday, April 28 at Bethany Congregational Church,

556 North Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara

, CA. Family and friends are welcome with a reception immediately following from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

Donations in Kaoru’s memory may be made to Bethany Congregational Church or a charitable organization of your choice.