House to vote on medal for Japanese-American vets

Hmm, not sure I like this idea. The medal isn't supposed to be given out to units, no matter how heroic and brave they are. And these men certainly showed that. It is supposed to be given to individuals who demonstrate that. About 15 years ago, the services already went back and awarded a bunch of Medals to men who deserved them, who were denied because of their race, heritage or other factors. Upgrading quite a few. Senator Inouye from Hawaii was one of the recipients. So if these individuals previously after review didn't quite merit the medal of honor, why give it to them now? If they did deserve the medal, why after the review from a few years ago, weren't they awarded? Is this political correctness rearing its head, or an attempt to fix the wrongs from years past? I honestly don't know, but I don't like giving the medal to people for political reasons, so I sincerely hope its not due to that. And I really don't like the idea of giving it to a unit as a whole. That dilutes its value and what it stands for.

Molenir: "Is this political correctness rearing its head, or an attempt to fix the wrongs from years past? I honestly don't know, but I don't like giving the medal to people for political reasons, so I sincerely hope its not due to that."

My guess is that it's a little bit of both, though more fixing the wrongs than politics. I will say I also think it's weird that they're giving the medal to a whole unit, and my only comment on that is that, aside from being largely symbolic and perhaps a little political, is it possible that it's too far removed from the events of the war to recognize the unit's individuals?

Not to be confused with the Medal of Honor which is given out by the military.

A Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress and is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Presidential Citizens Medal the highest civilian award in the United States. The decoration is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States. American citizenship is not a requirement.

From Wikipedia.

Thanks for clearing that up nimbus.

The medal will go nice next to a copy of the 1988 Congressional apology to the American citizens the WWII government kidnapped and imprisoned ("interned" is a word steeped in denial and I decline to use it). That too was very late.

Oh well, on to the next human rights violation to start making amends for starting in about 50 years. And hey, keep those records marked "open only at Christmas 2060, and to heck with the Freedom of Information Act too.

The medal will go nice next to a copy of the 1988 Congressional apology to the American citizens the WWII government kidnapped and imprisoned

Yep. Republican Ronald Reagan, trying to undo the racist wrongs of the Democrat icon FDR. Thanks for bringing that up. Might open a few eyes here,