Memorandum for Record 20 February 2000
SUBJECT: Minutes of the Japanese American Veterans’ Association of Washington, D.C.
1. A general membership meeting of the JAVA of Washington, D.C. was held at 1100 hours on 19 February 2000 at the Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. auditorium at Tysons Corners, Virginia. Hank Wakabayashi welcomed members and introduced the secretary.2. Old business.
a. Dave Buto who read the minutes from the last meeting.b. Warren Tsuneishi discussed the reprinting of the JAVA book, the MIS in the War Against Japan. The cost is $10 plus $2 for shipping. The book is being advertised on the JAVA web page. A motion was made, seconded but was not carried to increase the cost of the book to $15 in order to add to the JAVA’s treasury.
c. Hank Wakabayashi discussed the topic of storage of JAVA archives. There is more definitive information needed and there will be another meeting to review the options and make a decision. There is real concern about how to preserve the documents for the future generations.
d. Grant Ichikawa spoke about a documentary film on the MIS being sponsored by the MIS of Northern California. It will be a 1 hour documentary of the MIS in WWII. Gail Yamada (daughter of Gordon Yamada) is behind the project. It will be partially sponsored by PBS and will be shown in schools. There is $100k grant from the California Civil Liberties group. Another $250k is needed. It will be the first time that the MIS story will be told nationally. Donations of $250 or more will receive a free copy of the tape. A motion was made, seconded, and carried for JAVA to send $2000 to the project. Grant will follow-up to see to whom the check is made.
e. The dedication of the Memorial to Patriots was discussed. JAVA is one of the highest donors. The celebration ceremony will be on Saturday, November 11 at the Arlington National Cemetery at the amphitheater. Volunteers are needed to help clean up after another ceremony held immediately preceding the celebration. November 9 will be the dedication of the monument. On Friday, November 10 there will be a workshop followed by a banquet in the evening. Registration forms are being sent out. There are still a lot of questions about the event: Will there be a reunion for the veterans, what about Hospitality suites. JAVA needs to determine what role it will play.
f. The Cherry Blossom walk was described. The Freedom Walk will be on April 1 on the Mall. The goal is to try to double the number of participants from last year. The motion was made, seconded, and carried for JAVA to contribute $500 and to be listed as a community sponsor.
3. New Business
a. Phil Ishio spoke about the AJA National Council. It needs funds to offset the cost of phone calls, trips, etc. All attendees were asked to solicit funds from the various organizations. The motion was made, seconded, and carried to contribute $100.
b. Ron made the suggestion that RADM (ret) Chang be invited to a future JAVA meeting to discuss the status of the WWII memorial. The membership agreed that this should be done.
c. Dave Buto gave a presentation about the Internet and the JAVA web site.
d. Bert Mizusawa told members at the luncheon that that Secretary of the Army was forwarding to the Secretary of Defense a package recommending that a large number of Nisei who served in WWII should receive the Medal of Honor. There is no indication of when the package may be approved, but Bert was hopeful that the ceremony would take place Memorial Day. He encouraged everyone to get the word out to write to the President for his support.
e. Meeting adjourned and reconvened at the Tachibana Restaurant for lunch.
Prepared by:
David Buto