Community

Wally Yonamine, ‘Nisei Jackie Robinson,’ Dies at 85

HONOLULU—Wally Kaname Yonamine, the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after WWII and a former running back with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 85. His son, Paul Yonamine, told The Associated Press that the two-sport standout died Feb. 28 at a Honolulu retirement home after a bout with prostate cancer. "Most peopl...Read More

The Japanese Americans of the Jet Age

Gone are the days of the glamorous Jet Age that are memorialized today in vintage advertisements that depict dapper passengers dining on full course meals while en route to exotic destinations. But a group of Japanese American women are keeping the Jet Age alive by reliving their time in the skies as Pan American flight attendants. "When we flew...Read More

Mako Nakagawa to Keynote Manzanar Pilgrimage

Mako Nakagawa, a community activist working to eliminate the use of euphemisms to describe the World War II Japanese American experience, will be the keynote speaker at the April 30 Manzanar pilgrimage. Each year, over 1,000 people from diverse backgrounds attend the Manzanar pilgrimage, which commemorates the unjust WWII imprisonment of over 110,...Read More

Universities Seeking Nisei For Honorary Degrees

Two California universities are seeking former Japanese American students to recognize with honorary degrees. Santa Ana College's spring commencement is slated for May 20. Twenty-two JA students who had their college studies interrupted because of World War II have been identified. "It's never too late to right a wrong," said Erlinda J. Martinez,...Read More

Students Ask USC to Issue Honorary Degrees

Japanese American students at the University of Southern California who were unjustly uprooted from their homes and universities during World War II have a new ally — a coalition of current USC students in their 20s who are appealing to the private university to issue honorary degrees to former Nisei students. "We are putting to practice wha...Read More