Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
No Nisei soldiers, no redress.
When Congress passed H.R. 442, many believed President Reagan — whose own administration had fought against it — would never sign it. But the Japanese American community had a story to tell him.
Kazuo Masuda died in battle fighting for a country that had incarcerated his family. When they returned home from Gila River concentration camp, they were met with threats and racial taunts. At a medal ceremony for the Masuda family, a young soldier/actor declared: "Blood that has soaked into the sands of a beach is all of one color." That young man was Ronald Reagan.
On August 10, 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, a formal apology and reparations for those incarcerated under Executive Order 9066. The sacrifice of Nisei soldiers made it possible.
–
Kazuo Masuda photo courtesy of the Department of Defense. Gila River, Executive Order 9066, Reagan photos and footage courtesy of the National Records and Archives Administration.
#GoForBroke #442nd #CivilLibertiesAct #JapaneseAmerican #Redress
No Nisei soldiers, no redress.
When Congress passed H.R. 442, many believed President Reagan — whose own administration had fought against it — would never sign it. But the Japanese American community had a story to tell him.
Kazuo Masuda died in battle fighting for a country that had incarcerated his family. When they returned home from Gila River concentration camp, they were met with threats and racial taunts. At a medal ceremony for the Masuda family, a young soldier/actor declared: "Blood that has soaked into the sands of a beach is all of one color." That young man was Ronald Reagan.
On August 10, 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, a formal apology and reparations for those incarcerated under Executive Order 9066. The sacrifice of Nisei soldiers made it possible.
–
Kazuo Masuda photo courtesy of the Department of Defense. Gila River, Executive Order 9066, Reagan photos and footage courtesy of the National Records and Archives Administration.
#GoForBroke #442nd #CivilLibertiesAct #JapaneseAmerican #Redress
