National Japanese American Veterans Memorial Court facts for kids
The National Japanese American Veterans Memorial Court is a special place in Los Angeles, California. It's a national memorial, which means it's important to the whole country. This memorial honors the brave Japanese American veterans who served in the World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It's located right next to the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center on San Pedro Street in an area called Little Tokyo.
Honoring Japanese American Veterans
This memorial court helps us remember the courage and sacrifices of Japanese Americans who fought for the United States. It's a place where families and visitors can reflect on their service.
The Vietnam War Memorial
Inside the larger memorial court, there's a specific memorial for Japanese American veterans of the Vietnam War. It looks a lot like the main Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. It has three black granite slabs. Carved into these slabs are the names of 116 Japanese American veterans.
At the bottom of this memorial, there's a special message:
Due to the inability to verify all those of Japanese ancestry only those with Japanese surnames are represented on this monument. The rest remain forever etched in our hearts.
This message explains that it was hard to find every Japanese American who served. So, they included those with Japanese last names. It also says that all others are still remembered in people's hearts.
How the Memorial Was Planned
The idea for this memorial started in Los Angeles in the summer of 1987. A group called the Japanese American Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Committee was formed. Their goal was to build a memorial to honor Japanese American veterans who were killed in action (died in battle) or were missing in action (their whereabouts were unknown).
Finding all the Japanese American veterans was a big challenge. By the time of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military was fully integrated. This meant that soldiers from different backgrounds served together. It was hard to tell who was Japanese American just from military records. Sometimes, records even incorrectly listed Japanese Americans as "Indonesian" or "Eskimo."
In 1988, the committee started a huge task. They went through the names of all 58,159 people on the main Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They looked for last names that were clearly Japanese. After a lot of work, they found 99 veterans who were killed in action and 14 who were missing in action.
It took almost seven years to find the perfect spot for the memorial. Finally, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center agreed to have it built at 244 San Pedro Street. The memorial was officially opened and dedicated on Veteran's Day, November 11, 1995.
