NISSAN TEEN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM BRINGS STUDENT CLOSER TO HIS NISEI VETERAN UNCLES
The Go For Broke National Education Center held its second Teen Leadership Program session, this one sponsored by Nissan, on April 8 and 12, 2010. Once again working with Los Angeles High School teacher Rebecca Solomon, GFBNEC provided her with information on the WWII Japanese American experience, including the incarceration and emphasizing the Nisei veteran legacy to build youth leaders surrounding the theme of citizenship.
James Takaki, 11th grade student at Los Angeles High School points at his uncle's name, Medal of Honor recipient Shizuya Hayashi, on the Go For Broke Monument.
In addition to touring Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, students toured the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Presented with an interactive exhibit on democracy, students toured its exhibit on segregated units of World War II. In addition, the students toured the Go For Broke Monument, talking with the veteran docents and searching for WWII veteran names on the kiosk.
For one student, James Takaki, the Monument tour was especially memorable. With about 10 relatives that served during WWII, James chose to look up the name of one of his uncles, Shizuya Hayashi. Hayashi was one of the 20 Nisei WWII veterans who received the Medal of Honor in year 2000. With many of his classmates watching on, James found his uncle's name on the one of the black granite panels, and proudly pointed to his uncle's name. It was a day he'll always remember.
(The Hanashi Oral History Program interviewed Hayashi in 2000.)
