THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

24

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

Proposed

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

strongly urging the united states department of defense to maintain all references to the 442nd regimental combat team on its websites for the public.

 

 

     WHEREAS, during the second world war, the United States government incarcerated more than one hundred twenty thousand residents of Japanese ancestry in internment camps throughout the continental United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than half of the people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly detained without charges or the right to an appeal were American citizens; and

 

     WHEREAS, thousands of Japanese Americans lost their homes, rights, and freedom during this time as a direct result of systemic anti-Asian racism in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, second-generation Japanese American men who were born and raised in the United States were still encouraged to join and were even drafted into the United States military to fight for their country that classified them as "enemy aliens" on the basis of their race; and

 

     WHEREAS, altogether, more than thirty thousand Japanese Americans served with distinction in the United States military in segregated units during the second world war; and

 

     WHEREAS, the most renowned group of Japanese Americans to fight for the United States in this war was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team; and

 

     WHEREAS, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service during the entire history of the United States military; and

 

     WHEREAS, in total, approximately fourteen thousand men served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the vast majority of whom were Nisei, or children of Japanese immigrants born in the continental United States or the Territory of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, two-thirds of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were Hawaii-born Nisei, including Medal of Honor recipient and late United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye; and

 

     WHEREAS; Hawaii historically played a crucial role in the Indo-Pacific theater and continues to provide critical resources to the United States military; and

 

     WHEREAS, recognizing the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is of vital importance to acknowledging the contributions of the people of Hawaii to securing the freedoms enjoyed by Americans today; and

 

WHEREAS, recognizing the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is fundamental to sustaining the memory and honoring the sacrifices of the brave Japanese-Americans who substantially contributed to the war efforts of the United States while many of their families were incarcerated by the American government on the basis of their race; and

 

     WHEREAS, on or about March 5th, 2025, the Pentagon removed information pertaining to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team from the United States Army's official website amid a federal purge of content identified as being related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is a state composed of an extremely diverse population that celebrates and respects cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature does not support the removal of historical references to intersectional minorities and holds that the selective erasure of history is a dangerous act that facilitates the repetition of horrific injustices of the past; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Department of Defense is strongly urged to maintain all references to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team on its websites for the public; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of Defense is strongly urged to maintain all references to intersectional minorities in its media as the recording of history involving those individuals who happen to be characterized as minorities is not an act of elevating minorities above non-minorities; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii State Senate, with the House of Representatives concurring, remain vigilant in support of social justice, civil rights, equal protection, and upholding the rule of law; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of Defense; Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Chief of the National Guard Bureau; Lieutenant Governor; each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation; Governor; Adjutant General; Chair of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; President of the Japanese American Citizens League of Honolulu; Office Administrator of the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Club; President of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team Veterans Club; Director of ACLU of Hawaiʻi; President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Hawaii Chapter; Executive Director of The Legal Clinic; and President of Hawaii Women Lawyers.

 

Report Title: 

DOD; United States Army; 442nd Regimental Combat Team; Website