This year's Veterans Day panel highlights the extraordinary contributions of ordinary Americans in service to our nation by telling the story of the Nisei Soldiers.
The panel begins with esteemed Professor Lorraine K. Bannai of the Seattle University School of Law discussing the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans from the west coast during World War II, Fred Korematsu's challenge to the removal orders, and the forty-year battle to overturn Mr. Korematsu's conviction.
With that historical context in mind, retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Yaguchi tells the story of the Nisei Soldiers, American-born citizens of Japanese descent who, in spite of executive orders incarcerating Japanese-Americans during the war, volunteered to serve their county and became one of the most decorated units in U.S. military history.
DWT's Ken Payson moderates this panel from the Veterans Attorneys Affinity Group. Attorneys Brent Droze and Matt LeMaster also offer insights and remarks.