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[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 160 (Thursday, October 2, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2200-E2201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                         HONORING JOE HARATANI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2008

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Joe Haratani for 
his humanitarian efforts and his service to this country. Mr. Haratani 
was acknowledged Wednesday, October 1, 2008 in his home town of Sonora, 
CA.
  Joe Haratani was born in Florin, a rural farming community in 
northern California, to Japanese parents in October 1923. He was one of 
seven children and his father was a Methodist minister. In the fall of 
1941 Mr. Haratani enrolled at Modesto Junior College. While attending 
school he worked as a house boy for a Caucasian family. Shortly after 
the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was let go from his job. Within weeks, 
the U.S. Government restricted the movement of all Japanese and 
Japanese descendants, forbidding them to travel more than 5 miles away 
from home. On February 19, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
authorized Executive Order 9066, Mr. Haratani, along with approximately 
110,000 other people with Japanese ancestry on the West Coast, was 
forced into 1 of 10 internment camps across the country.
  Mr. Haratani and his family were taken to the Merced Fairgrounds, 
known then as the Merced Assembly Center. The shelter consisted of a 
tar paper shack until September when they were moved by train to the 
Amache Relocation Center in southeast Colorado. The camp in Colorado 
was surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. The internees were 
largely left alone to live their lives and fend for themselves. Many of 
the people had farming backgrounds, so they began to plant vegetables 
and trees for food and shade. Mr. Haratani found a job as dishwasher 
where he earned about $12 dollars per month.

[[Page E2201]]

  In early 1943, the U.S. Government offered draft eligible men the 
opportunity to enlist into the military and a way out of the camps. Mr. 
Haratani accepted this offer by pledging his loyalty to the U.S. 
Government and renounced loyalty to the Japanese emperor. After 
training, Mr. Haratani was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team 
and fought in the European theater. He was placed in a unit that 
consisted solely of Japanese-American soldiers fighting under Caucasian 
officers. This unit became the most decorated unit for its size in the 
history of the U.S. Army. The 442nd fought along the Italian border 
then moved into France. In France, they helped to liberate the town of 
Bruyeres. Mr. Haratani escaped the war uninjured; he returned to 
Livingston, CA and resumed attending classes at Modesto Junior College.
  In 1946, Mr. Haratani met Amy and in October 1948, they were married. 
Shortly after their wedding, he was accepted into Stanford University 
and attended with full funding from the G.I. Bill. He graduated with a 
degree in civil engineering and earned a master's degree for the 
University of California at Berkeley in sanitary engineering. After 
school, Mr. Haratani accepted a position with the California Department 
of Water Resources. Just 3 years later he was approached by the U.S. 
Agency for International Development to assist with humanitarian 
services abroad. Mr. Haratani, his wife, and their 1-year-old son 
packed up and headed for Bolivia to work on improving local water 
sanitation. He worked in Bolivia (where their second son was born), in 
Nicaragua for 2 years and Vietnam. He was transferred to Vietnam in 
mid-1961.
  Upon arriving in Vietnam there were about 55 Army advisors there, 
according to Mr. Haratani. Soon after he arrived, so did the troops; 
President John F. Kennedy made the decision to send 15,000 troops into 
Vietnam. Mr. Haratani maintained his position in Vietnam and avoided 
ground fire by flying to the rural provinces that he was assisting. His 
third son was born in Saigon. In 1963, Mr. Haratani was called back to 
the United States but soon joined the Peace Corps and was off again; 
this time he went alone. In the Peace Corps he joined the staff 
covering the western coast of South America. He was soon promoted to 
the director of the Ecuador operation. Two years after he joined the 
Peace Corps, they began allowing families with children to serve as 
volunteers. He resigned as country director and signed up his entire 
family for service.
  The Haratani family was assigned to the Galapagos Islands. He 
assisted in building a new water system and in expanding the area's 
electrical capability. Mrs. Haratani taught English at a grammar 
school, worked as a librarian at Darwin Research Station, and assisted 
in family planning. After 2 years, the family's assignment was 
complete. They returned to the U.S. and moved into a family hunting 
cabin in Columbia, CA. Mrs. Haratani began to work at Columbia College, 
and Mr. Haratani worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1973 to 1978. 
In 1978, he was called back to USAID. He spent 4 years in the Middle 
East evaluating sanitary engineering projects. In 1983 Mr. Haratani 
retired, although he did remain a consultant for over 10 years. As a 
consultant he traveled to Yemen, Egypt, Chad, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, 
the Gaza Strip, Ethiopia, and Central America. Today, Mr. and Mrs. 
Haratani live in Sonora, CA. Their three sons and two grandchildren 
live throughout California. Mr. Haratani is living a peaceful and 
relaxing life for the first time ever.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and thank Joe Haratani for 
his commitment to this Nation. I invite my colleagues to join me in 
wishing Mr. Haratani many more happy years of retirement.

                          ____________________
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