Due to the fact that many Nisei veterans were unable to attend the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington, D.C. in November, several regional celebrations are being planned.
Two events honoring the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service have been held — in Honolulu on Dec. 17 and in Seattle on Jan. 14. According to the National Veterans Network, a coalition of Japanese American veteran and civic organizations, upcoming events are as follows:
• Saturday, Feb. 18, in Salt Lake City. Contact Jeanette Spencer at jeanettespencer@me.com.
• Sunday, Feb. 19, presented by Central California District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League and its Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project. Contact Dale Ikeda at daleikeda@att.net.
• Sunday, Feb. 19, in Houston, Texas. Contact Gary Nakamura at jaclhouston@gmail.com.
• Thursday, Feb. 23, at Japanese American Museum of San Jose. Visit www.jamsj.org.
• Sunday, Feb. 26, in Portland, Ore. Contact Mari Watanabe at mari@oregonnikkei.org or Setsy Larouche at larouche@msn.com.
• Sunday, March 4, presented by Monterey Chapter JACL and Monterey Peninsula Nisei Memorial Post 1629. Contact Larry Oda at tsuneo1@msn.com or (831) 758-7107 or Post Commander Jim Suzuki at Jsuzukivfwvod@comcast.net or (831) 384-8493.
• Sunday, March 11, presented by San Diego Japanese American Historical Society and San Diego JACL. Contact Linda McLemore at lhmclemore@yahoo.com or Robert Ito at rpito@cox.net.
• Sunday, April 22, in Chicago. Contact Howard Hieshima at hhieshima@sbcglobal.net.
For updates visit http://nationalveteransnetwork.com.