NVN’s ‘I Am an American’ to Debut Feb. 20-22 in S.F.

Artist’s rendition of the “I Am an American” traveling exhibition. (Courtesy of NVN)

3-day kickoff will launch traveling exhibition to 11 sites through 2032.

By P.C. Staff

The National Veterans Network has announced that its “I Am an American: Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit” will open with a three-day event beginning Feb. 20 in San Francisco.

Three years in the making and in partnership with the National Museum of the U.S. Army with support from the Army Historical Foundation, NVN has described its “I Am an American” program as a means to “to honor the extraordinary service of the Nisei soldiers of World War II.” During WWII, Japanese Americans who wished to serve the United States in its armed forces were initially denied by racist policies and were classified as enemy aliens, ineligible to serve despite being U.S. citizens.

Due to manpower shortages, however, the federal government and Army allowed Japanese Americans to join the war effort. Second-generation Japanese Americans then went on to serve with distinction in Europe as members of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, and across the Pacific and in postwar Japan as members of the Military Intelligence Service.

The “I Am an American” sign in this 1942 photo by Dorothea Lange on the storefont of Tatsuro Matsuda’s grocery in Oakland, Calif., was the inspiration for the moniker used for the “I Am an American” traveling exhibition that launches on Feb. 20. (Photo: National Archives)

The three-day event takes place at three different venues: Hotel Kabuki (event check-in, hospitality and public programs); MIS Historic Learning Center at the Presidio, site of the “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience,” the 1,500-square-foot traveling exhibition hosted in San Francisco by the National Japanese American Historical Society with the Presidio Trust; and the Palace of Fine Arts Theater (premiere prereception and grand celebration event).

The event begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the MIS Historic Learning Center at the Presidio. Timed exhibition tours that are a part of the three-day opening weekend will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Also on Saturday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 22, are the event’s panel discussions, taking place at the Kabuki Hotel. On Feb. 21 is “Japanese Americans and Baseball” at 10 a.m. On Feb. 22 are “Journey of the I Am an American: The Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit,” at 10 a.m., and “Family Perspective: Personal Stories and Objects in the Nisei Soldier Exhibit,” at 2 p.m.

The grand celebration event is at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, and will feature keynote speaker retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki; the premiere of KABC News anchor-reporter David Ono’s new Nisei soldier tribute; and addresses from National Museum of the U.S. Army Director Emeritus Tammy Call, NVN Executive Director Christine Sato-Yamazaki and retired Army Brig. Gen. Burt Thompson, Army Historical Foundation president. Darrell Kunitomi will give a reading of letters from a Nisei solder. The national anthem and “Aloha Oe” will be sung by Faith Ako. Serving as mistress of ceremonies will be actress Tamlyn Tomita.

The San Francisco leg of the “I Am an American” exhibition, which will eventually visit 11 sites through 2032, ends July 31. Other locations in its five-year trek that will follow San Francisco are:

Hawaii (October 2026–March 2027)
Oregon (April–October 2027)
Los Angeles (November 2027–May 2028)
Utah (June–December 2028)
Colorado (January–June 2029)
Minnesota (September 2029–March 2030)
Texas (April–October 2030)
Illinois (November 2030–May 2031)
Georgia (June–September 2031)
New York (October 2031–January 2032)

The deadline to register is Feb. 7. The registration link is: tinyurl.com/5z6jdpu7. For details about the event, visit tinyurl.com/246a9fuj. For questions about reservations, email Joann Shin at Joann@nvnvets.org.