Afterward, she volunteered and donated
to military causes.
“Volunteering with the Blue Star
moms gave me an opportunity to hear
their stories and their fears that one day
someone would show up at their door to
give them bad news,” McLaughlin said.
“Sending letters and packages is a huge
boost for troop morale and for their fami-
lies at home.”
camps. Sakai and his family moved from
California to Colorado, where they were
not considered a threat to West Coast
military defenses.
“Families lost everything, their
homes, businesses and farms,” Sakai
said. “It was a huge loss to Japanese
immigrants like my parents who’d
worked hard to build a life here in
America.”
By 1943, American war casualties
were high. Troop replacements were
desperately needed. President Roosevelt
approved a regiment of Japanese-
American soldiers. Sakai volunteered
to serve. After basic training, he was
assigned to the 442nd.
In 1944 his regiment fought the
Germans in Italy and France, including
the rescue of a battalion trapped in
the Vosges Mountains—a battle Sakai
said is listed as one of the ten greatest
achievements in Army history. Sakai
was wounded twice by shrapnel and
patched up by medics. In March 1945,
the 442nd helped push enemy troops
back into the Po Valley. The Germans
surrendered three months later.
In 1946, Sakai’s regiment became the
most decorated unit in the Army based
on size and length of service. President
Truman invited the 442nd to the White
House grounds to present the Eighth
Presidential Unit Citation, saying, “You
fought not only the enemy, but you
fought prejudice—and you have won.”
“People aren’t born with prejudice,
they learn it,” Sakai said. “But as young
soldiers we were sent across the country
to train and all over the world to fight.
Being in the military exposed us to dif-
ferent people and cultures. We formed
our own opinions and did just fine.”
Over the years, Sakai has served as
a spokesperson for veterans, attended
many regimental and company
reunions, and established the Friends
and Family of Nisei Veterans in Morgan
Hill. Sakai and his wife have four adult
children, seven grandchildren, and one
great granddaughter. They moved from
Gilroy to Morgan Hill in 2008.
Lawson Sakai
WWII Veteran
In 2014, Morgan Hill selected Lawson
Sakai as Grand Marshal of the Fourth
of July Parade in 2014. The 91-year-old
South County resident made his mark
on U.S. history during World War II.
Sakai served with the legendary
442nd Regimental Combat Team in
the European theater. His all Japanese-
American regiment was credited with
having rescued an entire battalion and
other acts of valor. Sakai was awarded
two Bronze Stars and the Congressional
Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian
award.
In December of 1941 when Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor, Sakai was a
college student in Southern California.
He went to Long Beach Naval Air Base
to enlist.
“At the beginning of the war, the
government classified me as 4C, an
enemy alien and said I could not serve.”
Meanwhile, over 120,000 Japanese-
Americans were sent to internment
Jimmy Panetta, Congressman
Veteran & Advocate
U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta,
whose 20th district includes Gilroy,
served eight years in the Navy Reserve,
volunteered for active duty in 2007,
deployed to Afghanistan to work with
Special Forces units, and was awarded
the Bronze Star.
“One of the things that had a major
impact on my career was my work after
the war as a member of the VA Board,
helping guide the transition process for
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
returning Veterans to make sure they
had services,” Panetta said. He has co-
sponsored bipartisan bills addressing
a range of veterans’ needs, including:
the Gold Star Family Support Act, the
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial
Act, the Ensuring Veteran Enterprise
Participation in Strategic Sourcing Act,
the Wingman Act, the “Forever GI” Bill,
the Reserve Component Benefits Parity
Act, and the VA Employee Fairness Act.
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