A fundraising dinner/dance was held June 8 at Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo for the WWII Camp Wall with more than 300 people in attendance.
The monument, to be located in Torrance’s Columbia Park, will contain the names of over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were incarcerated by the government during World War II. The goal is to make sure they are remembered so that such a violation of constitutional rights won’t occur again.
Attendees danced to oldies performed by Asian Persuasion and Kokoro. Line dancing lessons were given by Jerry Fukui, Kay Niizawa and Kimi Watanabe.
Current and former elected officials showing their support for the cause included Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, Torrance City Councilmember Asam Sheikh, and former Los Angeles City Council-member Jan Perry, who received special recognition because it was her birthday.
Muratsuchi, who secured $5 million in state funding for the wall, paid tribute to Kanji Sahara of Torrance, who came up with the idea for the wall. Sahara and his family were incarcerated at Santa Anita as well as Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas. His granddaughters Kristen Tang and Kaitlyn Tang are the group’s treasurer and secretary, respectively.
Two members of the wall’s Advisory Committee who were appointed by the City of Torrance were introduced: Stacey Toda and Lisa Robinson.
Assisting with the raffle were Nisei Week Queen Kaitlyn Chu, First Princess Sarah Kubo and Princess Kaili Inouye.
Olympic karateka Sakura Kokumai lent her star power to the event.
WWII Camp Wall President Nancy Hayata said after the event, “We had a wonderful time at the dance with all of you, and appreciate the donations that came in. It was a very successful event for us, and we’re just a little closer to funding the Educational Display Stations.
“A huge thank you to each and every volunteer that helped the night to run smoothly. We couldn’t have done it without you. And an extra special thank you to Carol Tanita and Wayne Nagao, without whom the night would have never happened.”
For more information on the project, visit www.wwiicampwall.org.