Photo courtesy of museumcenter.org
On May 7, 1945 Germany signed a peace document with the United States ending the war in Europe, thanks in part to the determination of the men of the 442nd.
"They demonstrated conclusively the loyalty and valor of our American citizens of Japanese ancestry in combat."
- General Mark W. Clark, Chief of Staff of Army Ground Forces
"The Nisei troops are among the best in the United States Army and the respect and the appreciation due honorable, loyal, and courageous soldiers should be theirs rather than the scorn and ridicule they have been receiving from some thoughtless and uniformed citizens and veterans."
- Major General E.M. Almond, Commander of the 92nd Infantry Division
"The members of the Combat Team have made a magnificent record of which they and all Americans should be proud. This record, without a doubt, is the most important single factor in creating in this country a more understanding attitude toward the people of Japanese descent."
- Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior
Quotes courtesy of the442.org
Members of the 100th/442nd RCT were welcomed by cheering crowds when they sailed into New York Harbor on July 4, 1946 followed by a parade and review held in Washington D.C. by President Truman on July 15.
Books, articles, newsreels and movies about the 442nd helped the public to accept the Japanese Americans as loyal citizens instead of enemy aliens. As their heroism and combat record became better known, prejudicial barriers began to break. Many from the 442nd -- such as ex-Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii -- would continue on to serve the U.S. Government in various ways.
"The principle on which this country was founded, and by which it has always been governed, is that Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart; Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"...The record of that original 100th Infantry Battalion and what it meant in the acceptance of Japanese Americans as loyal citizens of the United States must be remembered. If it had failed in its first months of fighting in Italy, there might never have been a chance for other Americans of Japanese ancestry to show their loyalty to the United States as convincingly as the 100th did on the battlefields of Europe. The 100th had proved that loyalty to the United States in not a matter of race or ancestry..."
- Lyn Crost, war correspondent for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, who covered the 100th/442nd in World War II
Quotes courtesy of the442.org
The Koura family returned to a welcoming community on Bainbridge Island where Art became a popular community leader. Approximately half of the Bainbridge evacuees returned -- a much higher percentage than anywhere else on the west coast -- thanks largely to the efforts of the Woodwards.