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Here's a really interesting and unusual article:
Interned Japanese-Americans embraced Scouting
By Lori Aratani
SAN JOSE, Calif, January 10, 2005
One by one, bit by bit, the pieces are coming together.
An old flag stored for decades in a suitcase under someone's bed.
A stash of books, their spines barely creased, rescued from a
classroom at a San Francisco Buddhist church. Combined, these items
tell the story of a little known part of American history: how
Japanese-Americans segregated in internment camps during World War
II embraced Boy Scouting, a most American tradition, at a time when
the United States restricted their freedom.
Three months ago, San Jose community leaders _ including
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta _ launched an effort to bring
together the Scouts for a reunion in June. Since then, as word of a
reunion began to circulate, former Scouts started rummaging through
attics and garages and unearthing all sorts of treasures: old
uniforms, compasses, photographs and even a troop flag that had been
carefully stored in a suitcase under a former Scout's bed for years.
"There's so many wonderful things that bring back great
memories," said Rod Diridon, the former Santa Clara County, Calif.,
supervisor who is heading the effort.
Organizers hope that some of the artifacts might find their way
to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
By chance, Ross Noguchi, a San Francisco Scout leader, came
across a collection of old Scouting handbooks that had been used by
Scouts interned at a camp at Heart Mountain, Wyo. The books had sat
on shelves in a classroom at a San Francisco Buddhist church for
years.
Noguchi knew they had to mean something to someone because of the
stamps they bore: "WRA," for Wartime Relocation Agency, the
government office that oversaw the internment effort and "Heart
Mountain Council," which oversaw Scouting activities in the Wyoming
camp.
"They were never touched for all those years," Noguchi said.
"They were in almost pristine condition."
Noguchi said he admires the fact that Japanese-Americans embraced
the Boy Scouts and their values even in camp.
"To me, Boy Scouts is something that has a lot to do with honor
and loyalty to the country," he said. "After being shut up in camps,
you would think Japanese-Americans wouldn't want to be a part of
that anymore, but they did. It's like the guys who joined the 442 _
they wanted to show their loyalty."
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Japanese-Americans,
was the most decorated unit in World War II.
But while others may be struck by the irony of Scouts behind
barbed wire, to the 120,000 internees who lived in centers from
Arizona to Arkansas, maintaining their ties to the Boy Scouts, even
in camp, was a part of making life as normal as possible for
thousands of children. George Imokawa, who was 13 when he became a
member of Troop 343, remembers learning to swim and tie knots. But
the irony of being a Boy Scout behind barbed wire isn't something
the 75-year-old San Jose resident dwells on.
Imokawa was thrilled to see the books Noguchi found, in part
because he probably used them as a 13-year-old Scout at Heart
Mountain. Sorting through the old volumes with titles like "Pigeon
Raising" and "Citrus Fruit Cultivation," he smiled. Imokawa earned
10 merit badges as a Scout in camp and has continued to be involved
with the organization.
But it's not just books that are being found. Already, many
Scouts like Imokawa find themselves reconnecting with long-lost
cousins and friends.
Imokawa recently had coffee with a friend who was visiting the
Bay Area from Hawaii when a story about the Scouts ran on local
television. He also received a call from his cousin in Houston who
was a Girl Scout at Heart Mountain.
"It's kind of nice," he said. "I haven't seen folks for 60 years
and they're starting to pop up here and there."
Art Okuno, the leader of Troop 343 at Heart Mountain, got a phone
call from Henry Nagao, the man who served as his assistant troop
leader in camp and who now lives in Los Altos, Calif. He's also
found another former Scout leader living in Los Angeles.
The June reunion _ the first time many of the Scouts will have
seen each other in six decades _ will be held at San Jose's McEnery
Convention Center. And if organizers raise enough money, they hope
to produce a documentary that will record their stories before the
Scouts, now in their 70s and 80s, die.
The Rev. Gerald Sakamoto of San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin said
tracking the Scouts down will be a difficult task because many
people scattered after they were released from camp. But he's hoping
to use community newsletters to spread the word.
"Little by little, things are, hopefully, coming together,"
Sakamoto said. "It's something important because they are a
generation that's passing on. It would be nice to be able to do this
for them."
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