Nisei Honored by USC APA Alumni
By GWEN MURANAKA
RAFU ENGLISH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Saturday, May 3, 2008

USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett says wartime Nisei to be recognized during halftime of a USC game.

 
Photos by GWEN MURANAKA/Rafu Shimpo
From left, Grace Shiba, Ruby Nomura, Anna Oishi, Hitoshi Sameshima, Yutaka “Kody” Kodama, Yeiki Matsui, Bob Uragami, Roderick Shingu representing Shuzo Lloyd Shingu, Dr. David Masuoka and Martha Harris during a ceremony on April 25 honoring Nisei students whose attendance at USC was cut short due to the internment.

USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett is joined by Jon Kaji, right, president of USC Asian Pacific American Alumni, and Stephen Yamaguchi, USC legal counsel.

Nisei students forced to leave the University of Southern California because of the internment were warmly welcomed back on April 25 during the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Gala.

“It was a confusing and fearful time, decisions were made that were hurtful and unjust. Sixty-seven years later we feel and understand the disappointment and pain suffered by our Japanese American students,” said Mar­tha Harris, senior vice president, University Relations.

USC has identified 130 Japanese American students who were at the school when war broke out. Jon Kaji, USC APAA president, said this year’s 20th anniversary of redress made him wonder how many Nisei Trojans were affected by the war.

“I contacted Dr. Lon Kurashige, who is a USC history professor, and he checked and found in the official records that there had been a number of students affected and that in some instances the university had gone out of their way to refuse the release of transcripts which made it tough on them,” said Kaji.

USC APAA bestowed leadership award honors on Mike Garrett, USC athletic director; Grant Imahara, a robotics expert on Discovery Chan­nel’s “Mythbusters”; attorney Karen Wong; Scott Lee, partner of Famco Investments; and Union Bank of California.

Garrett, who grew up in Boyle Heights, recalled that he started his athletic career playing baseball in the Japanese American leagues, often en­countering prejudice among some JAs who felt the young African American didn’t belong. While at USC, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1965 as a two-time All-American tailback and later played in two Super Bowls. Garrett, who rode in the 2006 Nisei Week Grand Parade, was visibly moved by the story of the Nisei students.

“I grew up watching Nisei Week and going to carnival,” said Garrett. “Listen­ing to the stories of the Nisei students ... we’ll dedicate a halftime program to the USC Nisei graduates.”

Yutaka “Kody” Kodama, Dr. David Masuoka, Yeiki Matsui and Hitoshi Sameshima accepted certificates from the university. Anna Oishi represented her late husband Jiro Oishi, Robert Uragami represented his late brother Thomas; Shuzo Lloyd Shingu was represented by his son Roderick; and Ruby Nomura represented the late Kaz Nomura.

“It’s quite different than it is now. We took our courses in what was called the Old Main, just north of the Bovard Au­ditorium,” recalled Sameshima, a junior at USC in 1942 who later served in the Military Intelligence Service and gradu­ated from the University of Denver.

Dr. Masuoka’s wife Margaret wore his USC pharmacy fraternity pin given to her 67 years ago. Shortly after, he was sent to Gila River and Margaret went to Poston. After camp, they were reunited and married in Chicago. Today the couple volunteers at the Japanese American National Museum.

“At the museum we tell the visitors about our experience. Students ask what does the pinning of a fraternity mean and we say well, it means we were engaged,” said Margaret.

“It meant a lot when we were in­vited tonight. It was through one of the volunteers at the museum who saw his name on a list.”