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RAFINO Report In 1942 when Tom was 21 years old
-- because he was of Japanese descent -- he was interned and moved, along with the
rest of his family, from California to the Topaz Relocation Center in the desert plains of Utah.
Though incarcerated, Tom volunteered for the US Army and joined the famed 442nd
Regimental Combat Team fighting in Italy where he fought in three major campaigns.
Tom later served as a Finance Officer in Vietnam as a military advisor and Comptroller of a US Army
command in country. Upon his retirement at the grade of Major, he worked as a financial systems analyst and auditor for public
agencies in California and later as a financial controller for the cities of Richmond and Pasadena.
After retirement from civil service, he continued as a consultant to public agencies in that
field. As we know from his own account published in the last issue of our RAFINO Report, his extensive and significant
volunteerism included establishment of a program for Vietnamese refugees in Contra Costa County in 1975.
In the view of your editor, Tom's most significant, and enduring public service achievement was derived from his determination to
preserve the history of the famous 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd RCT and Military Intelligence Service by his founding of the
Go For Broke society which evolved into the National Japanese American Historical Society, of which he was the first executive
director and later a guiding board member. To that same end, Tom also assisted in the creation of books, films and exhibits on
Japanese American military exploits and the detention camp experience.
He spoke extensively to high school and college students and community groups on the subject. |