DAILY NEWS photo by Cathy Healy
The residence of the Japanese Consulate in New York City was the setting for the presentation of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, on Thursday evening. Above, honoree Grant Ujifusa celebrates the event with his son, John, and wife, Amy.

Ujifusa honored as Japanese-American ‘flag bearer’

By Jeanette Johnson
Staff Writer

NEW YORK – Surrounded by 100 invited guests and family, Worland native Grant Ujifusa, Worland High School class of ’60, was presented the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, on Thursday evening, Jan. 26.
Not even a pouring rain kept people from attending the ceremony at the residence of Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki, the Consular General of Japan, in New York City. Laine (Bonnie Bailey) DeFreece and Cathy Healy, Ujifusa’s classmates, were among the attendees. It was a special evening for his aunts and sister, Susan Ujifusa Diamond. Many of his relatives arrived from Denver, Colo. for the occasion, DeFreece said.
“It was so emotional for the aunts – these are (his mother) Mary’s sisters, because one of the husbands had been interned,” DeFreece said. “To understand what this award meant, it was very moving for them.”
Angus MacBeth, a former writer for President Ronald Reagan, proposed a champagne toast to a “double celebration – not only for who Grant is and what he did but this is also a celebration for the government of Japan honoring an American citizen.”
The event brought out that the two countries share a common cause and concern, DeFreece reported.
Following the proclamation, a reception was held for the honoree, his family and guests. The gathering took place in “a gorgeous town house around the corner from 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue,” she said.
In a brief telephone interview between the ceremony and reception, Ujifusa said it was a great honor to be recognized and he was glad his friends had turned out for the event. With well-wishers clamoring in the background, he was ushered away.
Hiroki reviewed the achievements attained by Ujifusa who was chosen for the honor for his contribution to the preserving and promoting history and culture of the Japanese American Community and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
“He was an effective flag bearer of the Japanese American people,” Hiroki said.
Through his access to representatives and senators from both parties, Ujifusa worked closely with the Japanese American members of Congress to devise a justification for redress. He is probably best remembered for reversing Reagan’s publicly-stated opposition to redress.
Ujifusa’s work as an editor at Random House and co-author of the “Almanac of American Politics” were listed among his accomplishments. He also commissioned an oral history of the internment camp experience, “And Justice For All,” preserving an important piece of Japanese cultural history for future generations.
In his remarks following the presentation, Ujifusa named six equally-deserving people: Sen. Spark Matsunaga, Congressman Bob Matsui; Seattle, Wash. business woman Cherry Kinoshita; Spokane, Wash. middle school teacher Denny Yasuhara; Philadelphia, Pa. social worker Grayce Uyehara and Rudy Tokiwa from Sunnyvale, Calif., a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Without them, he said, the effort to redress the grievances of 110,000 Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II would have failed.
“For my six friends, redress was total E SHO KEN MEI, which in Japanese means full throttle and non-stop,” he said.
The honoree told the story of how Reagan originally opposed the redress bill but eventually changed his mind. The death of Kazua “Kaz” Masuda, who was killed in action in Italy as a member of the 442, and his wishes to be buried in his hometown of Fountain Valley, Calif., played a pivotal role in redress. The family’s request was denied with the town fathers telling his mother, Mary, “We’re sorry, but we don’t bury Japs in our cemetery.”
The word got back to General Vinegar Joe Stilwell at the Pentagon.
“Vinegar Joe respected, even loved, the Japanese-American soldier,” Ujifusa said.
Stilwell flew 3,000 miles to California and confronted the town fathers, telling them the request would be honored “and we’re going to make an example of you SOBs and make a big deal of it.”
But Masuda’s mother was hurt and refused to accept the medal.
“They push us off our farm and into a scary camp in the desert,” she said. “Then they take my son, and he comes back in a box. And they want to give me a medal? No thank you.”
Stilwell later presented the Distinguished Service Cross to Mary, Masuda’s sister. Then-Captain Reagan got up and said, “The blood that has soaked into the sand is all one color,” and thanked them for Masuda’s sacrifice.
It took another 10 years of work to remind President Reagan of that event and “perhaps nudge him” to change his mind about HR442.
“Reagan said to Tom (N.J. Gov. Kean) that he thought Japanese Americans were sent to camp for protective custody,” Ujifusa said. “Tom said, ‘No, no, it wasn’t that.’”
He employed Masuda’s sister, June, to write a letter asking Reagan to sign the bill. She reminded him of the ceremony on Dec. 9, 1945 and how his and Stilwell’s presence affected the community and led to a better life for her family.
Upon reading her plea, Reagan called Kean and said, “I think redress is something I want to do.”
Reagan’s signage of the Civil Liberties Act on Aug. 10, 1988 was a historic victory for the Japanese American community.
In closing, Ujifusa expressed his gratitude to Masuda and his heroism on the battlefield. He lauded Masuda’s mother for her defiance of authority. He praised his sister for her acceptance of life as it is. He honored Stilwell for going the last mile to honor a fellow soldier.
“We are the beneficiaries of the civilization that these three Americans helped to create,” Ujifusa concluded.

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