Graphic sign for Nisei Veterans WWII Memorial Highway. A sign reveal will be held at the highway 35 viewpoint located just two miles south of Hood River tentatively at 3 p.m.
Graphic sign for Nisei Veterans WWII Memorial Highway. A sign reveal will be held at the highway 35 viewpoint located just two miles south of Hood River tentatively at 3 p.m.
SALEM — A bill passed by the Oregon legislature that would dedicate a highway in honor of Oregon Japanese American World War II veterans was signed by Gov. Kate Brown in March. With Brown’s signature on Senate Bill 1509, State Highway 35 will be dedicated on Aug. 13 as the Oregon Nisei Veterans World War II Memorial Highway.
A highway dedication ceremony is slated for Saturday, Aug. 13 at Wy’east Middle School’s new performing arts center in Odell at 1 p.m. Nisei dignitaries, former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, local legislators and Linda Tamura will participate. A sign reveal will be held at the Highway 35 viewpoint located just two miles south of Hood River tentatively at 3 p.m.
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SB 1509 proposed the dedication of the 41-mile highway that runs between I-84 in Hood River and Highway 26 near Government Camp. It was later passed unanimously by the Senate and House.
A proponent of the legislation, author and emerita professor, Tamura said her father and uncle fought two battles during World War II — one for equality and justice at home and one against the enemy overseas. This was after they and other Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) were forced from their homes in the Hood River valley.
“This highway will be a memorial to our Nisei veteran’s valiant service. These brave steadfast veterans paved the way so Highway 35 can become a highway of gratitude and remembrance,” Tamura said.
During World War II and the post-war recovery, more than 33,000 Nisei served with honor and distinction in the United States military, of which 432 were reportedly from Oregon, and 58 specifically from Hood River County. Their collective service came despite federal Executive Order 9066 issued in February 1942 that directed that Japanese Americans be removed to government-built camps.
Nevertheless, Nisei men and women wanted to prove their loyalty to their country and were later allowed to serve in the U.S. military. Many Nisei Americans served in the Army’s famed 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) in Europe, which remains the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. Nisei also served in the Army’s Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as linguists in the war with Japan in the Pacific Theater. Female Nisei served in the Army Nurse Corps and Women’s Army Corps.
Tamura and the bill’s co-sponsors, State Sen. Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River), Rep. Anna Williams (D-Hood River), former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Eric Ballinger of Bend, and retired Army Lt. Col. Dick Tobiason of the Bend Heroes Foundation will participate in the ceremonial bill signing in early August. Nisei veteran Yoshiro Tokiwa will join them. Drafted at age 18 from the camp in Poston, Ariz., Tokiwa served with the 442nd RCT Service Company in Europe.
Currently there are eight Oregon highways named for veterans. Organizations have raised more than $100,000 to pay the Oregon Department of Transportation and others to install and maintain more than 90 signs along 2,900 miles of highway.
Tax-deductible donations are being accepted to support this project online at pdxjacl.org/niseivetshwy, or by mailing a designated check payment made out to American Legion Post 22 to: American Legion Post 22, Cdr. Carl Casey, PO Box 1803, Hood River, OR 97031.
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