The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 54

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER USE WWII Heroes Medals of Honor Walter Oka was 13 when he watched the Japanese INSIDE Charles Krauthammer: 'Bush Lite' gains weight. Column, E2 Kathleen Parker What do women want? Column, E2 Walter Williams: Social Security is a lie. Column, E5 Today's number 130,000 The number of people the federal government employs at a total cost of almost $20 billion a year to enforce its regulations. FORUM bomb Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2000 1941. His family lived on a rim overlooking the duck-pond Navy at anchor, so he had a front-row seat "I watched the whole shebang. I thought, 'Wow, the Army is really ticked off at the Navy. Actually, he didn't say "ticked off." It was saltier than that, as you'd expect from a 72- year-old Army veteran. "They would have these practice bombing runs we used to watch, so we really thought it was one of those," he said.

"Until a Japanese plane flew over and we saw the insignia on the wings. Then we WE MUST REMEMBER THEM- AND EMBRACE THEM If" y- 'v ft 1 -v VV is i thought, Oh-oh, this is no Mr. Oka's father, who had fought for Japan against Russia, yelled "Banzai" in the yard. "But my brothers and I were all born in the U.S. and we had no allegiance to Japan whatsoever." Instead, they pledged allegiance to America by trying to enlist Mr.

Oka was too young, but seven of his brothers volunteered, and three served in one of the racially segregated units commanded by white officers: the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or 100th Infantry Battalion. Those became "the most decorated units of their sizes in Army history," the Honolulu Advertiser reported on May 12. "A partial medal count: 20 Medals of Honor, 48 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Peter Branson Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze Stars, 9,468 Purple Hearts." "They had something to prove," Mr. Oka said, "to show, -It tt --1 -'ii I--'- 'fv -ri 1 1 Urn TTT Tnn'rn ir t- nr rrn "ct 1 'tr-ffi i Homer Crotty, 83, a resident of Mount Washington Care Center, served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. vETERANS By Gail LB.

I VJtJ Padilla I 1 AM Guest columnist i L-1 I t''y I 7ou' yu to 'ss My dad's question had an easy I Hillary?" he asked. answer. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph offers If -J1' I a At that moment, the U.S. forgiveness to his brothers who sold i I veteran sitting across from him into slavery. He said, "You intend- -ft I rould you write to Miss Hillary?" he asked.

At that moment, the U.S. veteran sitting across from My dad's question had an easy answer. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph offers forgiveness to his brothers who sold him into slavery. He said, "You me at the picnic table did intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." I had no answers, however, for the penetrating, sincere, unflinching brown eyes staring into mine. Through their large intensity, I heard about bureaucratic rules that make our veterans jump too high, too slowly if their disability is not diagnosed within sue months of honorable discharge from the military.

This man's dismay about the shortage of Veteran's Administration nursing home beds caused my concern to burst "Yes, I will write to Miss Hillary for you. What do you want to say?" His kind, polite letter to our First 'Hey, we're And they proved it at a terrible price: "the highest casualty percentage among Army formations," the Honolulu report said. Mr. Oka recited the history in a recent talk to a University of Cincinnati class. "The whole significance for Japanese Americans was that here we were, treated as prisoners, and we still volunteered to serve," he said.

In the 100th and 442nd, a third of the volunteers came from the internment camps. Survivors Mr. Oka enlisted in 1946, and served in the occupation of Japan. He came to UC for college, married a local girl and lives in Western Hills. His three brothers who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion are now in their 80s.

The honor they fought for will be saluted in June, when 21 of the men who fought beside them are awarded Congressional Medals of Honor. The medals are 55 years late, the result of a search through hundreds of military records that was ordered by Congress to redress discrimination. A similar 1997 review gave overdue Medals of Honor to seven black soldiers. Seven of the Asian-American medal winners are still living, including U.S. Sen.

Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who attacked three German machine-gun nests although he was wounded three times and lost an arm. Fourteen of the medal winners are dead, including Staff Sgt Robert T. Kuroda, who was shot between the eyes as he stood next to Mr. Oka's brother. That was during the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" when Japanese-American soldiers saved a not know that I am a writer.

He knew me as a patriotic stranger who saw the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) van and invited herself to the picnic. I had planned a solo memorial afternoon of writing. The previous day had marked one year since my dad's death. Dad had served in combat during World War II. He had never understood why God had spared his life when a fellow soldier jumped on a land mine about to explode.

I understood Dad's dilemma. How could a merciful God permit such carnage and waste of human life? The Vietnam veteran I joined for lunch had a question, also. He wanted to know "how our country could act 'cold' toward its veterans?" Above and left: Joseph Newbauer, 90, also a resident of the Mount Wahington Care Center, served with the Army Air Corps as a medic in the Pacific. He is now blind and can no longer see his sergeant's stripes and medals, encased above at left. PHOTOS BY GLENN HARTONGThe Cincinnati Enquirer See VETERANS," Page E4 Borgman's Worid I Flying phenomena Sound Bites Made in U.S.A.

"Our most important export to China won't be our products and services, but our ideas and our beliefs." Rep. Rob Pottman, R-Ohio, during the House debate on extending permanent normal trade relations to China Kevinnnnn! "It certainly looks like an extreme case of Home Alone." Carlisle Mayors Court Magistrate Eddie Lawson after convicting two defendants for causing $40,000 damage to Gary HoBow's home during a drunken spring break party Just passing through "We're friends of Janet's from Miami. We just wanted to say hello." An undercover agent, assignment from Congress, who nude his way to Attorney General Janet Reno's office (and 18 other high-security federal btidtngs) a test of federal ardj-terrorism measures, which evidently aren't very effective (Si (A I if wliimlmMULUimM I Texas unit lost in France. Brothers in arms "They lost 800 men to save little more dramatic than Saving Private Ryan, but the story is the same: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) In that way, the Japanese-Americans who fought for their country in World War II were no different from the rest of the Americans whose deaths we remember tomorrow. Thafs the point "I don't care what color you are," Mr.

Oka said. "If it has to be done, come hell or high water they would do it" Peter Bronson is editorial page editor of The Enquirer. If you have questions or comments, call or write to 312 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202..