Paying tribute to Rudy Tokiwa

I was intrigued when Nathan Decena told me that he visited the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles to see his great uncle’s photo. [I love it when parents take their children to see important exhibits] My aunt is a docent there and many of my family members contributed towards the building of this museum.

Nathan told me that his great uncle was Rudy Tokiwa — the youngest soldier in the 442nd battalion– and the famous photo that Nathan went to see was of Rudy marching German soldiers out of Italy during WWII. While Rudy Tokiwa did capture some German officers on August 31, 1944, that is not him in the photo taken of another event on July 15, 1944. Coincidentally, I met and interviewed Rudy Tokiwa back in 2002 when the JACL put on a re-enactment called “Liberty Lost; Lessons in Loyalty” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Rudy shared with me stories of his missions, but what struck me most was that while he was fighting with the most decorated battalion in WWII, his family was behind barbed wire for three years until the end of WWII. I was fortunate enough to see this photo at the JANM and I just had to have my photo taken standing in front of Rudy Tokiwa’s famous photograph.

If you have the opportunity to visit JANM, go see it because it’s fascinating and a great history museum.