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| • PBI Events, Fall 2009 • | |
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| November 20 | |
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Trash for Cash: Making a Killing and Making a Living on Garbage |
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| December 8 | |
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Video Screenings by PBI Summer Tour Grant Winners |
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| More events and details. | |
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"Sensei" Award Ceremony
During the early stages of PBI’s oral history project involving former students of the Navy Japanese Language School during World War II, former Curator Pedro Loureiro discovered that the Japanese and Japanese-American teachers ("senseis") who taught at the school were conspicuously absent from the official Navy records and histories. Initial
contacts with a few senseis brought out the additional fact that
the United States government had never recognized the efforts and
achievements of these dedicated patriots, who made an extremely valuable
contribution to America’s victory in the Pacific War.The senseis worked officially for the Office of Naval Intelligence as instructors at the language school. These dedicated men and women performed their duties with “quiet dignity in the face of adversity” – working long hours for the same government that had placed their families and friends in internment camps. They helped fashion innovative methods of teaching the essentials of reading, writing, and speaking one of the world’s most complex languages within a 12- to 14-month period. Through their conscientiousness and dedication, they also introduced their students to the essentials of Japanese culture, providing knowledge vital for these officers’ future success as codebreakers, translators, combat interrogators and occupiers of defeated Japan. They gave students a perspective on Japan, its people and culture that “disarmed” prejudice and helped make these language officers more effective both in combat and in relations with the Japanese in postwar Japan.
Only a few of these men and women survive, and only a handful of scholars know anything about their work and contribution to the victory in the Pacific War. Thus, PBI took the initiative to obtain government recognition to recognize the efforts of these “forgotten patriots” who served their country loyally during a time of adversity. Through the contacts of PBI President Frank Gibney, and after a review of all the supporting documentation provided by Loureiro, the Department of the Navy agreed to grant these senseis its highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Award. The ceremony to honor these teachers was hosted by Pomona College on campus on November 2, 2002. The Director of Naval Intelligence, Rear Admiral Richard B. Porterfield presented the awards at a gathering of over 240 people.
