Internee Flag-Signing Event at Temple in the News

The September 19 flag-signing event was written up in the San Diego Union-Tribune in a copyrighted article published later that evening on its website and in the Monday, September 20 edition.

The article was prominent on the first page of the local section.

See the full article here. (Andrew Dyer, September 20, 2021, “Honoring a Painful History,” San Diego Union-Tribune, B1-B2.)

As identified on the Temple’s website earlier, the event honors living internees of World War II incarceration. All were invited to sign a 48-star flag. The project is a personal cause for Judge Johnny Gogo, Superior Court Judge for Santa Clara County.

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Internees came from all over San Diego, thanks to the event being publized by various organizations and churches.

PHOTO CREDIT

The photos in the Union-Tribune (left) are credited to (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune).

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Many attendees also took photos; the six below are representative.

Representing the Temple, Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi, left, and the Honorable Judge Johnny Gogo of Santa Clara County, right, who has spearheaded this effort. The signed flags will be presented to the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. In the left background is a “cherry picker” lift used by the painters in the Temple’s repainting project.

Representing the Temple, Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi, left, and the Honorable Judge Johnny Gogo of Santa Clara County, right, who has spearheaded this effort. The signed flags will be presented to the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. In the left background is a “cherry picker” lift used by the painters in the Temple’s repainting project.

The two-hour event attracted an estimated 70 San Diegans, some of whom were able to sign the flag even after the planned closing time.

The two-hour event attracted an estimated 70 San Diegans, some of whom were able to sign the flag even after the planned closing time.

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Here is an example of just one of the signed flags. Judge Gogo has purchased flags of the period — showing the 48 stars representing all of the states in the Union back during World War II — out of his own pocket. One flag was not enough for all the signatures.

Here is an example of just one of the signed flags. Judge Gogo has purchased flags of the period — showing the 48 stars representing all of the states in the Union back during World War II — out of his own pocket. One flag was not enough for all the signatures.

This lower group of six photos courtesy of Joyce Teague, representing the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego.

BT SD