LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) A total of 48 Japanese-Americans, including some who are deceased, were given honorary degrees in a ceremony Saturday at the University of California, Los Angeles, 68 years after they were sent to internment camps and denied their chance to graduate.
The ceremony was attended by 19 of the 48 former students, including Shigeo Yuge, 87, who was sent to an internment camp in Wyoming with his family when he was 19 on a directive issued by then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.
Wearing a black gown and a square cap, Yuge said internment took away his dream but that he no longer bears a grudge against the United States. After receiving the honorary diploma, he said with a smile that he is overwhelmed that he finally got to graduate.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said at the ceremony that the Japanese-Americans have taught society about the importance of moving forward even under adverse conditions.
According to the university, its Board of Regents voted last July to suspend its moratorium on honorary degrees in order to recognize those who were interned.
In 1942, about 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forcibly sent to internment camps in various parts of the United States. The U.S. government apologized for the act in 1988 and passed a law that allows compensation to be paid.
Topic: US Internees Finally Receive Degrees (Read 1040 times)