Legislation has been signed into law by the President that provides $1,000,000 for the support of a Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Historic Learning Center in the Presidio of San Francisco.

The provision was included in an omnibus bill to continue funding from the federal government until next spring at the request of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Congressman Mike Honda, D-Calif. Senator Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, was also credited with supporting the funding. 

"As Americans, this is a proud day for us to have the public support for this important story to be told," said Ken Kawaichi, president of the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS), the organization that will oversee the Center. "... our goal is now within reach of preserving a significant but overlooked part of American history."

The Center will be established at the actual historic site of the original MIS Language School, an unused airplane hangar (also known as Building 640), at West Crissy Field in the Presidio. When completed, the Center will offer a permanent exhibition and public programs. The permanent exhibition will include a re-created classroom and a mission map room that illuminates the historic achievements of the MIS.

"The heroic service of the MIS stands as an enduring counterpoint to this WWII injustice," said Rosalyn Tonai, NJAHS executive director. "Our hope is to tell the whole story, so that the lessons learned of war and peace can be told through the lenses of the people who lived it."

More than 6,000 MIS participants served during the War, mostly in the Pacific, participating in every major campaign. They provided vital intelligence that saved countless Allied lives, hastening the end of the war and collectively earning them a Presidential Unit Citation. Later, they played a crucial role during the Occupation of Japan, helping rebuild that country and playing a key role in strengthening the close U.S.-Japan bi-lateral relations that endures to this day.

"MIS Language School graduates employed their linguistic skills and intimate knowledge of Japanese culture to help turn a defeated nation into the U.S.'s strongest ally today," said Col. (Retired) Harry Fukuhara, 86, a leading MIS veteran active in the campaign to restore Building 640. "This important historic fact is one facet of a complex MIS legacy that will forever be preserved and celebrated at the new Center."

To celebrate the project's progress, NJAHS and the National Park Service/Golden Gate National Recreation Area will hold a Return and Remembrance: Japanese American Experience @ the Presidio - A Commemorative Park Partner Ceremony at the historic site of the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Presidio Building 640 near Crissy Field West in San Francisco on Nov. 22 from 10:30 am to 12 pm. At 12:30 pm at the Crissy Field Center will be a theatrical reading of the play "Betrayed" by award-winning author and playwright Hiroshi Kashiwagi.

This event is part of the partners' efforts to build public awareness for the MIS story and to raise the funds necessary in the community to help leverage the federal appropriations and complete the project by 2011. This appropriation brings the total raised for the project to $3.58 million of an estimated $6 million needed for completion.

Published by Pacific Citizen: "News and Information for the Asian American Community"

http://www.pacificcitizen.org/content/2008/community/nov21-national-park-service-presidio-san-francisco-1141.htm