Veterans Day Programs November 11, 2023
2:00 pm EST / 1:00 pm CST /11:00 am PST / 9:00 am HST
JAVA and NJAMF to Honor Veterans Day on Saturday, November 11, 2023
JAVA and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF) will hold its annual Veterans Day Program on Saturday, November 11th at the National Japanese American Memorial in Washington, D.C. U.S. Army Major Michael H. Yamamoto will be the keynote speaker for the Veterans Day Program. Major Yamamoto received his commission into the US Army Reserves in 2008 as a Signal Officer. MAJ Yamamoto was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, GA. He served as a platoon leader and executive officer with the 2nd Brigade’s Signal Company and Squadron S6 with the 2nd Brigade’s Armored Reconnaissance Squadron. He then was screened and hired for a Special Mission Unit where he served as a Battalion S6 from 2012-2013 in Washington DC.
The Ceremony will start at 2:00 pm EST / 1:00 pm CST /11:00 am PST / 9:00 am HST rain or shine. All are invited to attend in-person or virtually. The program will be live-streamed via Facebook. Viewers can go to the JAVA website at JAVA-US.org and watch from JAVA’s Facebook page or directly to JAVA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/Japanese-American-Veterans-Association-201704733192222/.
JAVA’s Veterans Day Program has been selected by the Veterans Day National Committee, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as one of the “Veterans Day observances throughout the country that represents a fitting tribute to America’s heroes.”
DEFINING COURAGE in WASHINGTON, DC
4pm, Kennedy Center
“Defining Courage” explores the remarkable legacy of the Nisei Soldiers of World War II. Serving in segregated units, these Americans of Japanese ancestry became the greatest fighters in US military history.
An immersive DocuTheatre experience, “Defining Courage” offers breathtaking cinematography, live music, historical film, and eyewitness interviews. The inspiring heroics of these often-overlooked heroes serve as a testament to inner strength and a source of inspiration for finding courage in today’s world. PROMO CODE: BOLDLY
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TICKETS
JACL DC Annual Picnic on Sunday, June 11, 2023
Due to the extremely poor air quality that is expected over the weekend, this Sunday’s JACL DC Chapter Picnic is CANCELLED. Based on weather projections, governmental health agencies, and the opinion of medical professionals, holding an outdoor event poses an elevated risk and are considered unhealthy for the general population. While it will be disappointing not seeing everyone, we want to ensure all our members are safe. The picnic will NOT be rescheduled. We will provide refunds for anyone who paid on Eventbrite.
Our next event will be Keiro Kai on Sunday, September 10 at 12:00 PM at the Cabin John Regional Park Group Picnic Area (same location as last year).
75th Annual Memorial Day Service on Sunday, June 11, 2023
Click HERE if you would like to donate towards flowers for Memorial Day gravesites.
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Mochitsuki 2022 – Registration Ends on Wednesday, November 30th!
Come one, come all! We will be hosting our annual Mochitsuki on Saturday, December 3 at North Bethesda Middle School, 8935 Bradmoor Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 starting at 12:00 PM. Come join us for a fun-filled, Japanese American community event where people of all ages can take part in pounding rice, and making their very own mochi!
Registration closes on Wednesday, November 30th. Register today and place your pre-order bentos & mochi HERE.
*This will be an indoor event, and we ask that you continue to take necessary precautions to keep yourself and others healthy. Masking is encouraged.
JACL DC Picnic – Next Weekend!
Come one, come all! The DC Chapter is hosting their annual in-person picnic on Sunday, June 12th, from 12:00 – 2:30 PM at the Cabin John Group Picnic Area, 7701 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac, Maryland.
Join us for a fun-filled afternoon of great food, games, raffles, and prizes~!
To register, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jacl-dc-picnic-tickets-327446981737
For directions to the park, click here: https://cumaps.net/en/US/cabin-john-group-picnic-area-p3010316
Go For Broke Stamp Day Project
We’re pleased to share that June 4th marked the one-year anniversary of the Go For Broke stamp.
To celebrate Go For Broke Stamp Day, the Stamp Our Story committee is asking community members to please commemorate the day by sharing photos and selfies of you/family/friends displaying the Go For Broke stamp on social media, with the hashtag #GoForBrokeStampDay #HonorAAPIElders #StampOurStory. These photos can be done anytime, throughout this month and beyond.
For those interested, Stamp Our Story is also looking to collect photos for their documentary film. The committee is in need of photos for their film credits of a brand new cut of the short film on the stamp’s story. This new cut includes new content, and the hope is to include it in some upcoming Asian American Pacific Islander film festivals where the Nisei soldiers’ story can continue to be shared. Any photos shared also need to have your consent to show them publicly. If you do not wish to have your photo posted on social media, but consent to having it featured in the documentary, please make a note of that in your submission.
For those comfortable sharing their photos on social, please feel free to visit their Facebook and Instagram account (@stampourstory) for examples of how to take and submit your photos.
For additional questions, concerns, and/or documentary photo submissions, please email StampOurStory@gmail.com or contact committee Co-Chair Wayne Osako at wosako12@gmail.com.
74th Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery
Sponsored By: Japanese American Citizens League (National & Washington DC Chapter), the Japanese American Veterans Association, and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation.
Date: Sunday, May 29, 2022
Gravesite Listing:
Please review the names below and contact us at jaclwdc@gmail.com for corrections.
On Sunday, May 29, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT), JACL DC Chapter, JACL National, Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF), in partnership with the Kobayashi family. will be sponsoring the annual Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in the Columbarium Ceremonial Courtyard.
This will be the 74th consecutive memorial service honoring our fallen heroes. The theme of this year’s service is “Defending Our Freedoms in Adversity.” The keynote speaker will be Dr. James McNaughton. He served as an Army civilian and as the command historian for the US European Command, for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, and for the US Army Pacific. He is the author of “Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II.” We will also welcome Thomas Kruhlak, an 11-year-old, 5th grader from Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School in Germantown, Maryland to deliver remarks about honoring the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families. In addition, a special tribute will be made honoring COL Jimmie Kanaya, a veteran of World War II (442nd RCT), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
At the conclusion of the memorial service, the participants and organizers will fan out across ANC and place flowers and offer our heartfelt gratitude at the nearly 100 identified gravesites. This supplements the annual custom of soldiers placing American flags at the tombs of the over 400,000 who are interred at ANC.
Below is the list of individuals who the organizations will remember at ANC with a gravesite visit, and you can also use this link. If you have a loved one, friend, or colleagues missing from the list, please contact us at jaclwdc@gmail.com, and we will make sure that they are added to the list and properly honored. If you would like to contribute to the cost of the flowers honoring our fallen heroes, please visit the JACL DC website and make a note that your donation is for the Memorial Day service.
Besides the official Memorial Day and Veterans Day services held at ANC, this Memorial Day observation is the longest, continuous annual event held at ANC. Key Kobayashi, Military Intelligence Service veteran and one of the JAVA founders, along with the JACL DC Chapter began the Memorial Day gravesite decoration program in 1948. When Key passed away in 1992, his family continued the tradition, with son Turner Kobayashi currently serving as coordinator.
All are invited to attend the program at Arlington. Attendees should plan on arriving by 9:30 a.m. to clear security.
The program will also be live-streamed on JAVA’s Facebook feed at 10:00 a.m. EDT, 7:00 a.m. PDT, and 4:00 a.m. HST and posted on the JAVA website https://www.java-us.org/.
For more information, please visit the sponsors’ websites:
Japanese American Veterans Association, https://www.java-us.org/, or contact Neet Ford, Executive Director, at javapotomac@gmail.com
National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, https://www.njamemorial.org, or contact Linda Adams, at njamfdirector@gmail.com
Japanese American Citizens League, DC Chapter, JACL DC, or contact Kim Hirose Tobe, at jaclwdc@gmail.com
Japanese American Citizens League, National, https://jacl.org/, contact Alex Shinkawa, at policy@jacl.org
JACL DC 