JAVA and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF) held its annual Veterans Day Program on Saturday, November 11th, at the National Japanese American Memorial in Washington, D.C. U.S. Army Corporal Norio Uyematsu was the keynote speaker for the Veterans Day Program.
Norio Uyematsu is a 93-year-old Korean War veteran from Anaheim, California, who has made it his mission to promote the story of the Japanese American Korean War veterans who served from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953.
After his wife Hanako Rose Fujikawa Uyematsu passed away in 2020, he did not know what to do with his life and lost focus on his reason for living. He needed to find a sense of purpose and was asked to write a list of things that he wanted to accomplish before he died. One was to preserve the legacy of the Japanese American Korean War veterans who served and were killed in action, and the other was to honor a man who gave his family a second chance at having a normal life in Brigham City, Utah, after they were told they needed to leave their Japanese American concentration camp, in Heart Mountain, Wyoming.
In 2022, he began his journey and attended the Wall of Remembrance Dedication at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2022. He had just received his Republic of Korea Ambassador for Peace Medal from the Los Angeles Korean Consulate prior to his departure so he could wear it for the dedication. He was surprised to find that he was the only Japanese American Korean War veteran in attendance. Jessica Xiao, a contributor for AsAm News, found him as he was going back to the bus and interviewed him for a story at the age of 91. The Pacific Citizen newspaper also published a cover story about his visit as well.
He was invited to speak at the Brigham City Kiwanis Club meeting in November of 2022 for their Veterans Day observance, where he was able to fulfill his second wish about honoring Earl Garret Anderson, an LDS farmer in Brigham City, Utah, who gave his family and other Japanese families a place to live and work on his farm after they were released from camp in 1945. His generosity allowed the Uyematsu family to have a second chance at a normal life, and Norio enlisted in January 1949 at the age of 17 into the U.S. Army. The morning of his address, the Brigham City hometown newspaper, the Box Elder News Journal, had his story on the front page of the paper and made the Uyematsu’s the talk of the town.
The following day, Norio and Patti Hirahara had a meeting with the Brigham City Museum. Museum Director Alana Blumenthal had heard Norio’s address the day before, and she was ready for the question that needed to be asked. Would the museum consider holding an exhibition on the Japanese pioneers of Box Elder County in the future? The museum immediately agreed, and his dream continued to flourish.
Congressman Lou Correa (CA-46) heard about Uyematsu and honored his Korean War story on the Congressional Record in November 2022 for Veteran’s Day.
Norio (Nori) Uyematsu was Honorably Discharged from the U.S. Army in 1952 at the rank of Corporal, and his unit, the 521st Military Intelligence Service Platoon, was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation in November of 1952, where he interrogated prisoners of war.
Once he went into civilian life, he still wanted to promote veteran causes, and he joined the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670, where he was a three-time post commander and is now the oldest member of the post. He was also a charter member of the Japanese American Korean War Association and a vice president. He is also a member of JAVA, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the American Legion.
He was honored at the 73rd Annual Nisei Week Japanese Festival in Little Tokyo as a Nisei Week pioneer in 2013, and he rode in this year’s Nisei Week parade as part of the military salute as a Korean War veteran.
Last year, he wanted to return to where he served during the Korean War since he was going to visit Japan. Congressman Lou Correa’s office sought an opportunity for Norio Uyematsu to visit Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture. Misawa Air Base responded, and Norio would be given a VIP Tour of the base on September 26, 2023. This was his first trip back to Misawa in 73 years since his Army unit was assigned to guard the base in 1950.
Once Misawa Public Affairs met Norio Uyematsu, they highlighted his story as their Veterans Day feature in 2023. The story was picked up by many online publications under the headline “Norio’s Story: A Japanese American Korean War Veteran.” His story was on the cover of the Pacific Citizen and on the front page of the Rafu Shimpo as well as being featured in the “Graybeards Magazine” of the Korean War Veterans Association.