Several of the DUHS students interned during WW-II were presented with diplomas during the Graduation Ceremonies in June 2004.
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The following is article by the Principal of Downey High School entitled
"FOR SOME, GRADUATION CAN NEVER BE TOO LATE"
which was published in The Downey Patriot on June 25, 2004.
Graduation from high school is very special occasion in everyone's life. Ask anyone who has graduated and they will often recount the time and place when this occurred.
Thursday night June 10, was one of those special graduation experiences which took place at Cerritos College stadium. With both Downey and Warren under construction the decision was made early in the school year to move to Cerritos College with graduation on the same day, Warren at 5 p.m., Downey at 8 p.m. It turned out to be a splendid decision for graduates from Warren and Downey High. Principal Eileen Wannett and staff handed out 675 diplomas to their enthusiastic graduates from Warren. Downey High the number was 725.
One of the things that made graduation exceptional was the attendance at both graduations of the Superintendent Wendy Doty and the entire Board of Education. It is the first time I remember this happening and it will probably be the last as both schools traditionally start at the same time 7:30 p.m. and on the same day. The schools should be back on their respective campuses for graduation in 2005.
Downey High's graduation had a wonderful event as well. There were outstanding speeches and music by some of our graduates. What made the evening perhaps most remembered was a presentation of diplomas for Japanese/American students who attended Downey from the classes 1942-45. Ms. Lisa Lucke, Vice Principal at Downey read the following statement.
"The year was 1942, the President of the United States was Franklin D. Roosevelt. The month was February two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt signed executive order 9066 authorizing the mass incarceration of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans during WWII.
Two-thirds were American citizens, over one-half children or infants. Their ‘crime' was their Japanese ancestry.
Forty-six years later President Ronald Reagan on behalf of the government officially apologized for the ‘great injustice' and agreed to pay reparations to the 60,000 surviving Japanese-Americans who were relocated or detained.
Fast forward to last year, 2003.
Seeking to address ‘a sad chapter of American life,' Governor Gray Davis signed legislation on Sept. 12, 2003, which granted high schools the opportunity to issue retroactively diplomas to Japanese Americans interned during WWII. The law authorizes school districts to retroactively grant diplomas to any person who was prevented by the internment from graduating with their high school class.
More than two-thirds of the 110,000 Japanese-Americans incarcerated during the war in the 10 internment camps throughout the country were from California."
The following were then presented diplomas who had been enrolled at Downey High at the time of their incarnation.
Sumio Fujimoto 1944,
Yetsuko Fujimoto Dyo 1943,
David Kataoka 1944,
Arthur Masao Nerio 1943,
Sumi Nerio Leonard 1945,
Itsuko Omokawa Ota 1944,
Eunice Yokota Kurisu 1942.
A wrong was committed over 62 years ago and we were happy and proud that we had made this small gesture to correct that decision. All of our new found friends were humble and gracious and seemed genuinely touched by all the attention they received. Their family and friends were also elated, some of the participants brought with them four generations who witnessed the graduation. It was delightful to hear some of them recount stories of kindness and friendship from teachers and friends so long ago that had made an impact in their lives. See if you recognize any of these famous Downey names that they mentioned influenced their lives. Edith Unsworth, Maude Price, C.C. Carpenter, Don Fisher, Edgar McCaughen, James Keasling, Joanne Carter (Shull) and many, many more.
Indeed, graduation from high school is very special occasion in everyone's life.
Allen Layne, Principal
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