Oregon Nisei veterans of World War II honored in Portland: Shinseki, Wyden address gatherings

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Sen. Ron Wyden, center back, helped to honor Oregon's Nisei veterans at the Oregon Historical Society Saturday morning.

(Mike Francis / The Oregonian)

Oregon paid tribute to the state's Japanese-American veterans of World War II in a daylong series of events in downtown Portland Saturday. The ceremonies, speeches, luncheon and film screening were in conjunction with the opening of the

at the Oregon Historical Society Museum.

The exhibit, which runs through Sept. 29, features the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Nisei veterans in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., two years ago.

Congresspersons of both parties came together to award the medals, noted Sen. Ron Wyden, in recognition of the uniquely challenging circumstances faced by Japanese-Americans who fought in World War II. The Japanese-American troops were placed into three all-Nisei units -- the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service -- and served with distinction, receiving more than 18,000 individual honors, including 21 Medals of Honor, even as many of their families were confined to detention camps in the American West.

The Congressional Gold Medal on display at the Oregon Historical Society Museum.

The secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki, himself a retired Army four-star general of Japanese descent, addressed the luncheon, calling the story of the Nisei veterans "a uniquely American story."

"We all have a personal responsibility to share their stories and not let it pass with them," he told the assembly. To the veterans, he said, "Thank you for your wonderful example of how to live our lives."

A fuller story will follow in The Oregonian.

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