Recognizing Mr. Minoru Hamada's 100th Birthday

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to honor the abundant and exceptional life of Mr. Minoru Hamada as he celebrates his 100th birthday. Born in Ogden to Japanese immigrants, Mr. Hamada embodies the best our country has to offer and has made Utah proud.

When much of the nation turned a suspicious eye toward their Japanese American neighbors following the Japanese Empire's attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Hamada saw an opportunity to demonstrate his allegiance to the United States. He volunteered for the military, joining with other Japanese Americans to serve as members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Many of his fellow soldiers in the 442nd were incarcerated in internment camps created to house Japanese Americans in accordance with President Roosevelt's executive order.

Mr. Hamada and his fellow Japanese American soldiers saw the war as a chance to fight totalitarianism abroad and racial prejudice at home. The 442nd remains the most-decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. As a member of the American forces fighting German and Italian fascists for control of the Italian peninsula, Mr. Hamada was wounded in battle. He served in uniform for another two years.

After the war, he married his sweetheart, Martha. They were married for 61 years until she passed in 2007. They delighted in raising two kids and now have two grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Mr. Hamada continued his service to Utah's defense community, making dental prosthetics at Hill Air Force Base and for a local dentist in Layton.

It is through the service and sacrifice of individuals like Mr. Hamada that allow all Americans to live in freedom. His life is a model of courage, selfless-service and altruism that we can all learn from.

I thank Mr. Hamada on behalf of his fellow Utahns and a grateful nation for his service and wish him a very happy 100th birthday.

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