At last our heroes have been duly honored with the Congressional Gold Medal that they so richly deserve for their services in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service during World War II.

Whenever stories of their heroism are retold, I am in awe of their accomplishments and they make me proud to be a Japanese American.

I am a sansei, born in Honolulu, and in 1962 I was a stewardess for Pan Am stationed in New York. I especially recall a flight assignment to Rome, Italy when we had a couple of days' layover.

It's shaping up to be a great year. As we reported last month, the New Year brought good news that the Aratani Foundation has awarded us a $50,000 grant. Recently we received more good news, as Union Bank informed us that we are the recipients of a $25,000 grant to support our programs.

"Union Bank has always been part of the Nikkei community and we are very grateful for their continued support to preserve JA history," said Don Nose. "These funds will help us with our 2012 initiatives, including accelerating the collection of oral histories of Nisei veterans, and transcription of interviews in our Oral History collection, as well as ongoing development of our educational programs."

Ever wanted to sit down and chat with a Nisei veteran?

Well, not all of us are so fortunate, but we've got a volunteer project that is the next best thing!

One of our 2012 priorities is to transcribe interviews in our Hanashi Oral History collection in order to make it easy for students and researchers to accurately locate video segments of interest to their project.

It's a big job. Currently, only about 17% of our interviews have been transcribed, and with a collection that numbers over 1,100, that means we've got about 900 to go.

Our 13th annual Monument Anniversary Opportunity Draw is bigger and better than ever.

This year the grand prize is a four-night Sheraton Kauai Resort package, including Delta Air Lines airfare for two to the Garden Island.

Other enticing prizes include cash prizes from $500 to $1,500, golf foursomes at Angeles National Golf Club in Sunland, California, and a hotel/dinner package at the Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance, California.

"But what if I don't win?" you ask. You've still helped our Hanashi Oral History Project complete additional interviews World War II veterans, helped us with our interview transcription process, and enabled us to explore educational partnerships with youth organizations in challenged communities.

So it's a win-win situation. Buy your tickets now. You have nothing to lose.To purchase or sell tickets, email peggy@goforbroke.org or phone (310) 222-5709.

Tickets are $5 each, or purchase a ticket packet for $50. Winners need not be present.

Hot off the presses: the Southern California Regional CGM celebration will be held on Saturday, June 9th, in conjunction with the annual Go For Broke Monument Anniversary. More details to follow.

There are other Congressional Gold Medal celebrations being held all over the country. Please see the calendar at the bottom of this email for a listing, as provided by the National Veterans Network.

The Oregon Nikkei Endowment and the Oregon Nisei Veterans are holding a tribute luncheon on Sunday, February 26 at the Multnomah Athletic Club to commemorate the bestowing of the Congressional Gold Medal to our Nisei veterans and to recognize and celebrate our local honorees. Nisei veterans who were unable to make the trip to Washington, DC are especially encouraged to attend. The reception and lunch begin at 11:30 am.

For registration information and sponsorship opportunities (such as sponsoring a veteran's lunch or honoring a veteran(s) with a congratulatory message in the commemorative booklet), visit www.oregonnikkei.org, call (503) 224-1458, or email cgmevent@gmail.com.

The Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego is hosting an inaugural celebration of San Diego State University professor Wendy Maruyama's Tag Project as part of its Congressional Gold Medal celebration weekend scheduled for March 9-11.

Japanese Americans from the West Coast were rounded up in 1942 and each was issued a tag and an ID number designating their destination.

Professor Maruyama explains, "I was taken by the physical weight of the tags when they were completed and hung, despite appearing to be light and airy. This struck me as being very relevant to the way the internment was perceived by the general American public. To this day it shocks me to still run into fellow Americans who had no clue that this had happened. It was necessary to make all 120,000 tags, to represent every Japanese American who was sent to the ten major camps. I feel that the sheer numbers and the scale of these tags will convey to all who view this that the internment was a massive project that was to affect an entire culture of people and their future generations."

In our January eTorch, we mistakenly referred to Grant Hirabayashi (who passed away in November 2010), when we meant to acknowledge the recent passing of Gordon Hirabayashi, in January 2012.

Grant Hirabayashi, an MIS veteran and member of the famed Merrill's Marauders, was a driving force of the Japanese American Veterans Association. It was always a joy to watch him in his presentation to students.

Gordon Hirabayashi will be remembered for the courage of his convictions, as he refused to submit to the order for all people of Japanese ethnicity to evacuate from the West Coast in 1942. Four decades later, he was vindicated when a US court determined that the government's internment policies had been based on political expediency, and not a risk to national security.

Both gentlemen will long be remembered for their contributions to their country.