One of the most successful projects undertaken by JAVA has been the recently-inaugurated JAVA Website. Its concept, impetus and success are directly attributable to the dedicated efforts of our in-house computer expert, JAVA secretary David Buto. The JAVA Website has added a new dimension to our outreach. Prior to the launching of this project, the sphere of our outeach was basically confined to JAVA membership and a few of our fellow AJA veterans associations. David reports that within the past several months, request for information and contacts have been received from overseas countries and Alaska as well as numerous inquiries for information and services from the general public, including AJA veterans from throughout the nation. For example, Colorado State University at Fort Collins needed a speaker to address a meeting of CSU students interested in learning about the exploits of the Nisei GIs in WWII. This request was relayed to our 442nd contact in Denver and hopefully handled to the mutual satisfaction of all parties concerned. David Buto and those JAVA members involved in the implementation of this program are indeed commended for their efforts. Grant Ichikawa, one of the principal administrators of this program has written an informative article which describes in salient detail the exciting and innovative efforts which are taking place at this website. Grant's report will be found elsewhere in this issue.

As we approach the close of the current JAVA administration and the beginning of the next biennial term, a Nomination Committee, co-chaired by Joe Ichiuji and Ron Yonemoto, has submitted a slate of officers who have agreed to serve in the 2000-2002 term of office. This slate of officers together with their respective bio-sketches and the proposed ballot is attached. It should be emphasized that the JAVA elections have always been "open" insofar as write-in and nominations from the floor for other candidates have been encouraged. Sealed and signed ballots containing your choices as well as possible write-in candidates should be mailed to Joe Ichiuji on or before July 8, 2000. Votes, including nominations from the floor, will be tallied during the annual JAVA meeting on Saturday, July 15. JAVA members who will be unable to attend the July 15 meeting are urged to submit their ballots prior to the July 8 deadline. Details concerning reservations, the site, time and program of the July 15 meeting will be announced in a special notice which will be mailed to all JAVA members in late May or early June.

Ron Yonemoto, a long-time JAVA member, has recently relocated to Honolulu. Ron, a "four-striper" (Captain) in the U.S. Navy Reserves and, in civilian life, an attorney with the U.S. Veterans Administration, has accepted a position with the VA office in his native Hawaii. He has been closely associated with JAVA since it founding and has actively participated as an effective member of the Executive Council on a continuing basis for the past eight years. Thank you for your dedicated service, Ron. We shall be missing you immensely!

Recently, we received from Roy Inui, our Seattle-based JAVA member and supporter, a limited number of TV cassettes which feature the Washington, DC, MIS Reunion held in 1993. How he acquired these tapes is a story unto itself. However, he has generously made them available to JAVA members who desire to have a copy of this memorable occasion. Thus, if you are interested in receiving a copy (at no charge), please drop me a note and I will have them for distribution at our next meeting. If the demand exceeds the available supply, we'll try to make an equitable distribution on a "share" basis. Thank you, Roy, for your thoughtful gesture.

The dedication of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism is now a reality and will be held during the period November 9-11, 2000. As JAVA members are aware, we have made a substantial financial contribution towards this Memorial and, additionally, have supported it otherwise in our various fund-raising efforts. The Dedication program currently being developed will feature a day (November 11) when veterans will be specifically honored by activities such as a veterans breakfast, ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery, and a reception later that evening. Much remains to be done in the planning aspect and most certainly in the implementation phase which will require vast volunteer efforts from JAVA members. Regrettably, a recently-diagnosed medical condition necessitates my withdrawal from a leadership role in planning and managing the veterans portion of the Dedication program. However, I am pleased that fellow JAVA members Joe Ichiuji, Fred Murakami and Phil Ishio and others have volunteered to take over these tasks. I applaud their actions and encourage and urge all JAVA members to assist them in assuring complete success in honoring the veterans during the upcoming program.

########

JAVA PROUDLY TOUTS ITS WEBSITE; MEMBERS URGED TO SPREAD THE WORD by Grant Ichikawa

JAVA proudly touts its website (www.javadc.org), which became operational in January, and members are urged to spread the word among their computer-user friends of this attractive and colorful new source of information on the legacy of the World War II Nikkei generation.

The website, with its waving American flag and changing scenes such as that showing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, is dedicated to the patriotism of Japanese Americans who served in the American military, especially those who served under trying conditions during World War II.

JAVA's membership, however, is not limited to we fossilized veterans of WWII. Our membership includes third generation and possibly fourth generation Nikkei, and fortunately, among them we have David Buto, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and son of one of our peer group, the late Colonel Jun Buto.

David, JAVA's secretary, holds a Masters Degree in computer sciences, and as the webmaster for the JAVA website, has devoted many hours to bringing the website to where it is today.

For those who don't know, the JAVA site's Home Page introduces the user to the organization. A chapter on the organization's membership follows. Here we need more JAVA members to give their permissions to have their names listed along with brief bios and photos of themselves.

I feel this is especially important to the children and grandchildren of JAVA members, most of whom certainly are or will be computer literate and who will be able to view the information with great pride. I also believe JAVA's website would be an excellent tool for recruiting new members who will be able through the website to document their military experience for viewing by their offspring.

The website features someone special each month. The first issue featured Richard Sakakida, a Nisei from Hawaii who endured great hardship as a Japanese prisoner. The second feature article was on Chick Ikeda, whose "Star" was finally placed on the CIA Wall at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Va., honoring those who gave their lives in the service of the CIA. The third features JAVA's Phil Ishio, outlining his Army career.

The nine Nisei inducted into the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame are also prominently featured with a narrative on each while large portions of JAVA's book, American Patriots, is also shown complete with pictures.

To field queries to the website, Dave Buto has formed a committee of 442nd and MIS veterans who have e-mail capabilities and a summary of each of these queries, handled in most part by WWII veterans, also is available.

We feel that it is the younger people who visit our website and hope that more third and fourth generation Americans of Japanese ancestry will tap into our website to learn of the hardship and extreme sacrifices the second generation Nisei made with sweat and blood to prove their patriotism during the trying period of WWII.

#######

(Editor's Note: Little known but fascinating stories of the Nisei GIs in the war in the Pacific are seeing the light of day, many for the first time, through responses to queries made to JAVA's website (www.javadc.com). The following, for example, are the responses from Harry M. Akune and JAVA's Phil Ishio to a query on Japanese Americans who served with the U.S. Marines. Akune, himself, is a member of the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame for heroism in the war in the Pacific. Also on the website is a plea from the daughter of MISer's daughter seeking information on her father's military service.)

The text of Akune's Response:

"Hi Grant,

"I had the opportunity to work on a request for citations in early '97, when a window of opportunity was made available to MISers to be recognized for their WWII service. This was made possible under a Senate bill introduced by Senator (Daniel K.) Akaka.

"Three Nisei belatedly (1997) received the Legion of Merit for their effort in the Marine invasion of Guadalcanal in August, 1942. Their effort not only assisted the Marines in their daily combat with information from translated documents but also from interrogation of POWs.

"Plus, their translations of the Japanese Communication and call code book was sent to Pearl Harbor, Adm. Nimitz hdqs. With great urgency. No recognition was ever received by the Nisei team who worked out of New Caladonia where the Navy and Marine Hdqs. was located.

"The ranking Nisei was a PFC (sic). The soldiers receiving the belated recognition were T/3 Shigeru Yamashita, T/3 Jim Masaru Ariyasu and Tech Sgt. Mac Nagata.

"The three were the only ones that I was able to contact. Later, we located Roy Kawashiri in San Jose, CA The Nisei contact were with Marine Intelligence officers Capt. John Erskine, Col. Harris and Naval Intelligence office Gene Markey. Hope this will help your Marine Corps friend. Harry."

--0--

The text of Ishios' Response:

"There were 40 MISLS (Military Intelligence Service Language School)

graduates assigned to the JICPOA (Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Area) annex, which was outside Pearl Harbor because Nisei were not trusted by the Navy. Those at the annex translated captured documents and preparation of psy-war material. In addition, they were assigned to the Marines on landings on Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, Guam, Palau, Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

"Hideto Kono was with the Marines in Saipan and Iwo Iima after the landings during translation of documents and identifying Japanese weapons. At Iwo Jima, he took part in persuading the enemy soldiers to come out of the caves in which they were hiding to prevent them being burned alive.

"Yutaka Masuda was assigned to the Marines when he went to Iwo Jima in March, 1945. He translated captured documents and also patrolled the island with other GIs and three officers looking for enemy soldiers hiding in caves and persuading them to surrender.

"Dr. Henry Yokoyama was with the Marines during the last phase of the Iwo Jima campaign and was involved in the clearing out of holed-in enemy soldiers.

"James H. Saito was attached to the 4th Marine Division for the Iwo Jima campaign. He landed on 25 Feb. '45 (D plus 6). He was assigned to a team to investigate downed enemy aircraft and ascertain their place of manufacture, type and engine specs. He was also involved in the interception of enemy radio transmissions and translations of captured documents.

"Capt. Wallace S. Amioka headed a team of Nisei soldiers whose parents were from Okinawa and knew the Okinawa language and customs. Tom Ige, in this autobiography, The Boy from Kahaluu, describes how he suggested the formation of a special team of MIS Nisei whose parents were form Okinawa and who knew the language and customs of Okinawa.

"A book entitled 'The Nisei Soldier; Historical Essays on WWII and the Korean War" by Edwin M. Nakasone, published by J Press, White Bear Lake, MN, in 1999, contains a chapter on interviews with Japanese veterans such as a Japanese ensign who flew in the attack on Pearl Harbor and a veteran's experience of the atomic bomb."

-- 0 --

A Daughter's Plea: Christine Miller, daughter of MISer Yukio Hayashi, sent an e-mail to the JAVA website seeking someone to fill information gaps in her father's military and civilian service.

"Father's memory is not too good these days -- he doesn't remember when he went to Savage or what class he was in, but he knows he was with ATIS in Brisbane, Manila and Tokyo," She wrote. "From Brisbane he was shipped to Aitape, New Guinea.

"Based on other information he gave, we believe he was in the class at Savage that began in December, 1942, and was in Section 7."

Christine has the names of all the students in Section 7 and is hoping this may jog his memory. She said that during the Occupation, he worked with Harold Rogers, who later became a French teacher at Grant Heights, a man her father still is in contact with. Her father met his wife Chizuko and the two were married in March, 1946.

Hayashi remained with the MIS during the Korean War and after retiring from the U.S. Army, worked for U.S. Aid during the Vietnam War.

Christine's e-mail address is: christine_miller@ncsu.edu. Her father's address is: Yukio Hayashi, 5129 Vann St., Raleigh, N.C. 27606.

######

JAVA's publication, "American Patriots: MIS in the War Against Japan," is selling at a brisk pace and members are encouraged to put in their orders for the limited supply.

Grant Ichikawa and Grant Hirabayashi, who are handling the distribution of the soft cover book, report that orders for 91 copies have been received in the month following the availability of the reprint of "American Patriots" in mid-

March of this year. The volume, edited by Warren Tsuneishi and Stan Falk, includes first-hand accounts of 25 language specialists who served with U.S. forces in all major battles in the Pacific and Asia during WWII as well as the occupation of Japan.

Falk, an MISer and military historian, also wrote the introductory "Overview of the War in Asia and the Pacific." The accounts in the book, all by men who distinguished themselves during the war in the Pacific, were originally given during the 1993 Capital Reunion in Washington, D.C., sponsored by JAVA.

JAVA members are encouraged to purchase copies of the book for their children, grandchildren and friends. It is a document on an important chapter of the Nikkei heritage.

Orders for the publication, priced at $10.00 plus $2.00 per volume for handling and shipping, should be sent to:

JAVA Book

P.O. Box 59

Dunn Loring, VA 22027

Make checks payable to JAVA.

-- 0 --

NOTE OF INTEREST from Warren Tsuneishi: When Harry Fukushima, a prime mover of the MIS Club of Northern California, placed his order for the American Patriots from his home in San Jose, CA, he suggested that a copy

be sent to Tom Brokaw, of NBC News. Brokaw had drawn attention to, among others, Senator Daniel K. Inouye and Congressman Norman Mineta in his best seller, The Greatest Generation. In a recent interview, Brokaw had indicated that he was interested in receiving more first hand accounts of veterans and civilians of the World War II period.

JAVA sent a copy of American Patriots to Brokaw, and the author responded graciously, stating: "As you might have guessed, I have been inundated with scores of personal books about World War II experience. It is testimony to the lasting effect of that memorable time. I do hope, however, to read the book and gain further insight into the World War II generation."

######

Faubion Bowers, remembered recently for his informative and provocative comment on the 1993 D.C. MIS Reunion, died in New York Nov. 16, 1999, at the age of 82. At that reunion he spoke of his experiences as a non-Nikkei in the first class at Camp Savage and of his later work as aide-de-camp and personal interpreter for General Douglas MacArthur.

After training as a concert pianist, he moved to Asia where he taught at Hosei University in Tokyo (1940-1941). On a lecture tour of Java, his interest in things Japanese resulted in his being expelled by the Dutch as a possible spy for Japan. He returned to the United States in time to be drafted into the Army in September, 1941, and then went on to Savage.

During his tenure as a interpreter/translator, he rose to the rank of major. In addition to his many books, he appeared in, wrote and produced television programs having to do with the Occupation, MacArthur and the arts in Europe and Asia.

Among his honors are a Japanese decoration -- the Order of the Sacred Treasury -- presented to him by the Japanese Emperor, and, earlier, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.

In Japan, he is still best remembered by the fact that, in opposition to "old hands" who wanted to outlaw Kabuki (as militaristic), he convinced MacArthur how counter-productive it would have been for the goals of the Occupation.

Having arrived in Japan as interpreter for the advance party prior to the surrender, his knowledge of that early period and policies would have been invaluable to historians, but the code of military secrecy was honored by him.

In addition to his skills in Japanese, he wrote and spoke in Indonesian, Russian and French -- he was truly Renaissance Man.

#####

Joe Inchiuji and Ron Yonemoto, JAVA's nominating committee, presented the following slate of candidates to serve for the 2000-2202 year. The candidates, all of whom have agreed to serve if elected, and a brief biography of each follows:

For President: Sunao (Phil) Ishio -- born in Berkley, CA, and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he attended elementary and high schools. After a year at the University of Utah, he went to Tokyo in 1939 with his grand parents and completed two years at Waseda University. He returned home in 1941 after beling warned by the U.S. embassy about the worsening relations beween the U.S. and Japan. Drafted in 1941, he was placed in the special class of June, 1942 at the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS), Camp Savage. He saw action in the Papua and Buna campaigns and then as a commissioned officer on Leyte. He was decorated with the Bronze Star and two Unit Citations. He completed his education at Georgetown University after the war. He then joined the CIA and worked there until his retirement in 1973. Her continued his military service as a reserve officer, retiring from the reserves with the rank of Colonel. He also served as the Director of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Information System, Drug Enforcement Agency. He is the founding president of JAVA when it was established in 1992. He was married to Constance Nayematsu in 1945, has three sons adult children and one grandchild.

For Vice-President: Col. Ernest T. Takafuji -- currently serving as Director of Chemical and Biological Defense and International Programs in the Health Care Policy Office of the assistant secretary of defense. On active duty in the U.S. Army for more than 27 years, he served earlier as the principal assistant to the commanding general of the Medical Research and Materiel Command for Science and Technology at Fort Detrick, MD. Other assignments were as director, commander or chief at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, the Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Preventive Medicine Activities at Ford Ord and Fort Bragg. He also served as consultant to the Surgeon General. Takafuji received his B.A. from the University of Hawaii, his M. A. in Public Health from John Hopkins and his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of New Mexico. He is also a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, board-certified in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and author or co-author of numerous publications on infectious diseases, public health and biological defense, and a recipient of a host of awards for work in his field. Takafuji is past president of the Hawaii State Society and is active in Asian-American and Pacific Islanders affairs. He is married to Carol Leolani. They have two daughters, both in graduate school.

For Secretary: David Buto -- David Buto was born in 1952 in San Francisco. The son of Col. Junichi and Ann Buto, he spent his childhood as an Army brat moving to and from military posts around the world. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry in June, 1974. He transferred later to the Military Intelligence Service, earned a Master's Degree in computer science, then served in various capacities in strategic intelligence and automation. He puts his marriage to the former Joanne Normandin of Whittier, CA, as his most important accomplishment during his 22 years in the military. They have a little daughter, Alana Ann. For the past three and a half years he has been with Booze-Allen & Hamilton, Inc.. a management and information technology firm.

For Treasurer: Calvin Ninomiya -- Born in Seattle, WA, Ninomiya earned his Bachelor's Degree at the University of Washington in Seattle; his J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School, and a Masters Degree at the University of Maryland. He was a chief counsel at the Bureau of Public Debt in the U.S. Treasury Department, having served with that agency which is responsible for administering the public debt from 1975 to 1995. He then served with the Office of Technical Assistance at the Treasury from 1995 to the present, being intermittently employed on technical assistance programs to aid (primarily) countries in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He was in the wartime "relocation center" in Minidoka, Idaho from 1942 to 1945, then served in the U.S. Army in 1945 and 1946. He and his wife Hannelore have three children. They have lived in Chevy Chase since 1967.

######

JAVA INVITED TO "NATIONAL DAY OF HONOR" PAYING HOMAGE TO MINORITY SOLDIERS OF WWII

JAVA has been invited to attend special "National Day of Honor" ceremonies in the nation's Capital on May 25 citing the often unsung heroism of America's minority servicemen during World War II.

Dr. William H. Smith, executive of Day of Honor 2000 Project, said the undertaking "focuses on giving overdue honor and respect to America's most sacrificial generation and in the process help secure America's future through bridging the racial divide."

He said May 25 should be proclaimed "as a symbolic National Day of Honor for African American, Asian American, Hispanic American and Native American World War II Veterans"

Senator Daniel K. Inouye and JAVA's Norman Ikari, also a 442nd RCT veteran and a Purple Heart winner, have been invited to speak at various meetings planned for May 25 in Washington, D.C.

Though a reception for VIP's is by invitations only, everyone has been invited to attend wreath laying ceremonies at the World War II Memorial Site and Arlington National Cemetery, symposiums on "Serving in World War II as a Minority" and "Minorities in World War II: A model for Citizenship," and an art show: "Patriotism: Minority perspectives." The meetings will be held at the District's Howard University.

Smith said the project planned progressive city by city observations "to formally say 'thank you' as a nation to a generation of American's whose service and sacrifice paved the way for the freedoms and African Americans and other minority groups enjoy today."

The Day of Honor would be "moral reparations" for the fact that, among other things, "the popular culture has nearly ignored their service," and that observation of the day would offer a means of redress to minority American veterans "from ships' stewards, who were often relegated to little more than personal servants to white officers to the extraordinary role of the 761 Tank Battalion, Tuskeegee Airmen, the 442nd Japanese-American Regiment, and the Native American Code Talkers to name a few."

A Joint Congressional Resolution to proclaim May 25 as a "symbolic the National Day of Honor" has been filed by Senator Ted Kennedy and U.S. Representatives Corrine Brown (FL) and Sheila Jackson (TX).

Smith said WWII veterans were dying at the rate of more than 1,000 a day and "it is imperative that we give them this honor in the twilight of their years."

#####

SLATE OF CANDIDATES

FOR

2000-2002 TERM OF OFFICE

Candidates nominated by

Nomination Board Write-In Voice/Floor

President / / Sunao (Phil) Ishio / / __________ /__/ ____________

Vice-President /__/ Ernest T. Takafuji /__/ ___________ /__/ ____________

Secretary /__/ David Buto /__/ ____________ /__/ _____________

Treasurer /__/ Calvin Ninomiya /__/ _____________ /__/ ______________

Voter's Signature:_______________________

Print Last (family) name:__________________