Inside this display case are a Purple Heart Medal, a gold Star Lapel Button, Sadao Munemori’s Congressional Medal of Honor and George Sakato’s helmet. (Photos: Courtesy of Larry Oda)
Eleven-city, five-yearlong tour holds ribbon-cutting ceremony at S.F.’s Presidio.
By P.C. Staff
The planning, preparation — and possibly prayers — to successfully commence a traveling exhibition intended to share with the general public the courage, valor and military service by Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II was rewarded Feb. 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for “I Am an American: Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit” (see Pacific Citizen, “NVN’s ‘I Am an American’ to Debut Feb. 20-22 in S.F.,” Feb. 6, 2026, tinyurl.com/2jhcspzy).
Participating in the ribbon-cutting were National Veterans Network Executive Director Christine Sato-Yamazaki, who presided over the ceremony; retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki; National Museum of the United States Army Founding Director Emeritus Tammy Call; National Japanese American Historical Society Executive Director Roslyn Tonai; Presidio Trust CEO Jean Fraser; National Museum of the U.S. Army Director Paul Morando; U.S. Army Center of Military History Executive Director Charles Bowery; and Army Historical Foundation President and retired Brig. Gen. Burt Thompson.
Also in attendance at the ceremony, held at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, was JACL National President Larry Oda, who relayed to the Pacific Citizen how much he “enjoyed the exhibits and seeing many Nisei Veteran supporters there.”
Pictured at the exhibit’s opening are (from left) Eric Shinseki and Anne and Larry Oda.
Also present was Dr. James McNaughton, who completed the study that in 2000 upgraded 20 Distinguished Service Crosses to Medals of Honor that were presented to surviving former 442nd RCT members by President Bill Clinton.
Three years in the making by the National Veterans Network, the National Museum of the U.S. Army and the Army Historical Foundation, and with this first stop of the 11-city, five-yearlong campaign hosted by the National Japanese American Historical Society, the exhibition is focused on Nisei who served during WWII with the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team in the European Theater and the Military Intelligence Service across the Pacific Theater.
Regarding the exhibition, Oda described what he saw as a “. . . collection of familiar photos and unique artifacts with explanations of their significance.
“One display had the Gold Star lapel pin given to Sadao Munemori’s mother, (Medal of Honor recipient) George Sakato’s helmet and Sadao Munemori’s Medal of Honor.”
In a LinkedIn post, Sato-Yamazaki wrote: “We have officially launched our 11-city national tour that will educate the public about the extraordinary service of ‘Nisei,’ Americans of Japanese ancestry, who rose above fear and prejudice to demonstrate their loyalty to the U.S.”
For details about the “I Am an American: Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit,” visit nvnvets.org/exhibit.
