My Letter to U.S. Agencies Opposing Korean Comfort Woman Monument From: Robert M. Wada Date: September 10, 2013 Considering approval of a Korean Comfort Woman Statue Monument I have been a resident of Buena Park for 30 years and prior to that lived in nearby La Mirada for 23 years. I am a second generation American of Japanese ancestry born, raised and educated in Redlands, California. As a young boy of 12 years of age, I was a victim of the mass World War II incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the WestCoast of the United States. In 1950 during the Korean War, in spite of my incarceration by the United States Government in WWII, I volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps to serve, fight and defend a country and a people I did not even know. I lost two very very close friends in the Korean War, one of whom I first met in Kindergarten and to this day still feel responsible for his death. Five sons of my first generation parents from Japan served in the U.S. military in American wars. Two in WWII with the muchdecorated Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team and threeof us were in Korea during the war at the same time.. Although I object to the proposed Korean Comfort Woman monumentin any location in the United States, my objection to this monument in no way means I condone or defend the actions of Japan. I too will be appalled if the allegations are proven to be true. However, in this letter I am merely defending the integrity of our Japanese American communities across the nation. An apology is due from Japan, not by governmental agencies in the U.S. nor as individuals. This is an issue between two foreign countries. After watching and hearing the speakers at a City of Buena Parkhearing on TV, I heard many very young Koreans telling their stories of the atrocities with figures and statistics. In my opinion, they are comparable to younger generation Japanese Americans who speak of the horrible conditions in the internment camps and often exaggerate stories to get their point across to viewers or an audience. I recommend any hearings be restricted to your local residents and not residents from far away outside municipalities, who have no local interest. I would like to remind you, long before World War II, a very large portion of Orange County was predominantly farms owned and operated byfirst and second generation Japanese Americans. They were farming long before any Korean people or even before other ancestors set foot in the area. It is not fair to blame our first generation parents who came here as far back as the early 1900’s for atrocities committed by Japan during World War II. There is a Japanese American farming industry museum on the grounds of the California State University in Fullerton and not onemonument is erected in any city of Orange County. In my opinion, I do not feel that a monument for such a controversial issue is in the best interest of any City or anywhere else in the United States. It is a problem between two foreign countries and such a monument only intensifies the divisive issue and only benefits one segmentof people in our very diverse society. Will that mean we can now open the door to additional monuments in your municipality to commemorate the slavery of the blacks, the immigration of the Hispanics, the execution of the Jewish people during WWII and the illegal incarceration and stripping of the constitutional rights of the American citizens of Japanese ancestry during their internment in WW II. ? This proposed monument is to commemorate a foreign issue and is not what I, nor the well over 5,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and the256 who gave their lives served and died for. We fought and we died for the love of our country and the freedom of the people of the Republic of Korea, not so ultimately they could migrate to the United States and bring shame to our heritage. I hope you will all realize as well, there are manyolder residents through out the United States who are not able to express their opposition and, like myself, are adamantly against it. It is well known throughout the Japanese American communities,there is a hatred exercised here in the United States by the Korean people,not only against the Japanese in Japan, but this hatred has been broughtto the United States against the Japanese Americans as well. In 2007, I received and answered an email from a non-Korean professor at a university in Seoul, Korea. He questioned why the university was still teaching hatred for the Japanese and they even include the Japanese Americans. I responded, “I have no idea why they include Japanese Americans.” The Japanese Americans certainly do not deservesuch disrespect or bigoted treatment. The Korean people should be appreciative the Japanese Americans bravely served during the Korean War, which helped grant them the freedom to come to America. There is one important exception to this hatred. Many of the South Korea War Veterans of the War recognize the sacrifice and suffering of their fellow Japanese American Veterans and show very little animosity toward their fellow Japanese American veterans of the Korean War. In 1997, I helped organize and was the president the first four years of the Japanese American Korean War Veterans Organization. To try and help bridge that hatred gap between the Korean people and the Japanese Americans, our organization with the permission of the Republic of Korea government built a Memorial near the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea listing each individual name of the 256 Japanese Americans killed in the Korean War. That Memorial is located at Imjin Gak,Paju City in Korea. To allow the Comfort Woman monument for atrocities committed by a foreign country will not bring a local resolution. It will onlydestroy any positive benefit we may have gained in the past as a result ofthe Japanese American Veterans’ Memorial in Paju City, South Korea. I suggest your Agency merely pass a resolution in support of fair justice between Japan and Korea. This would place your Agency on record in aiding international efforts for justice. If this monument is built anywherewithin your jurisdiction, it will only enhance and continue the hatred suffered by the Japanese Americans in the United States. My final comment is to make you aware that on Thursday, August 29, 2013, the City Council of the City of Buena Park, California, setting a precedence, voted to deny the implementation of the Comfort Woman Statue Monument in the City of Buena Park. There are two books I have authored that may be of interest to help you understand the role of the Japanese Americans who served in the Korean War. The first is my memoir book titled, “From Internment, to Korea to Solitude,” and my second book is titled, “Americans of Japanese Ancestry in the Korean War.” Their titles alone partially define the role of the Japanese Americans in the Korean War who fought and sacrificed their lives to protect the freedom of the people of the Republic of Korea. Sincerely, Robert M. Wada Sgt., U. S. Marine Corps Korea, 1951-‘52
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 22:03:31 +0000
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