JAKWV Activities for 2018 Nisei Week

Japanese American Korean War Veterans (JAKWV) will again host a Hospitality Room for all U.S. veterans, veterans’ families, widows and family of deceased veterans, current service personnel, members of military organizations and ROTC members.

Important notice: The Hospitality Room will be open only on Sunday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The room will be located on the second floor and the North Balcony of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC), 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.

JAKWV members are requested to arrive at 9 a.m. to greet the 2018 Nisei Week Queen and Court at the National Japanese American War Memorial Court outside the JACCC and to take photos with them.

The Hospitality Room will be a place for relaxation and renewal of friendships and comradeship for those who have served their country and are currently serving, their families, and other special guests. There will be free food and drinks as well as tables and chairs on the shaded balcony with a view of the entertainment and other activities in the JACCC Plaza below.

The JAKWV Nisei Week Committee includes: President Sam Shimoguchi, Mits Asakura, Deen Matsuzawa, Victor Muraoka, Mitch Sakado, Bacon Sakatani (photographer), Wally Takata and Min Tonai. The Food Committee will again be led by Toshiko Matsuzawa, Lois Muraoka, Elinor Sakado and many other volunteers.

The JAKWV will participate in the Nisei Week Parade on Sunday and requests any Korean War era veterans to march with them. For those unable to march, vehicles will be available to take them around the parade route. The uniform of the day is service caps and white polo shirts, if you have them.

JAKWV also encourages veterans of the Vietnam War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Grenada, and other conflicts, visit the Hospitality Room and march with their fellow veterans in the parade.

JAKWV is again proud to announce that Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Hershey Miyamura from New Mexico will lead the contingent in the parade. He and his fellow Korean War POW, Joe Annello, were featured in this year’s Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C., which was aired on PBS on May 27.

There will be a JAKWV information booth next to the Memorial Court for the general public with newsletters, brochures, and books available as well as flowers to place in the Memorial Court, which contains monuments to Japanese Americans killed in action in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other conflicts.

The JAKWV schedule for Nisei Week is as follows:

Sunday, Aug. 12: Hospitality Room and Memorial Court booth open at 10 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. Parade will start at 4 p.m.; meet at 3:30 p.m. on Third Street at Central Avenue.

For additional information, contact Sam Shimoguchi at (310) 822-6688 or samkuni@verizon.net; or Victor Muraoka at (818) 590-6724 or vtmuraoka@gmail.com.