Day of Affirmation Dinner
Saturday, July 16, 2022
National Museum of the U.S. Army
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Saturday, July 16, 2022
5:00* - 9:00 PM
Keynote Speaker: LTC Robert Vokac, USA (Ret)
Will Share Memories from his Grandfather Colonel Virgil R. Miller of Commanding the 442nd RCT
The evening dinner program will begin at 5:00 pm in Veterans Hall. *All guests are asked to arrive by 4:30 pm to clear security before museum admission stops at 4:45 pm (no late arrivals, please). Attendees will be on a guest list and allowed to visit and tour the museum at any time that day at no extra charge.
Day of Affirmation Activities
Day of Affirmation Ceremony - Friday, July 15 at 12:00 o'clock, noon, at the National WWII Memorial on the Mall. JAVA will commemorate the 1946 triumphant return of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team from the battlefields in Europe to Washington, DC where they were received by President Harry Truman and presented the seventh presidential unit citation.
For this year’s ceremony, LTC Robert Vokac, USA (Ret), will serve as the wreath escort. He is a grandson of COL Virgil Miller, who was the commanding officer of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team beginning with the battle to save the Texas Lost Battalion. One of the two wreath bearers will be Sandra Tanamachi, whose uncle, Saburo Tanamachi, was killed in action while serving with the 442nd RCT in its efforts to save the Texas Lost Battalion and is the first Japanese American to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. COL Miller was one of the pallbearers at Saburo Tanamachi's service at Arlington. The other wreath bearer will be Missy Higgins Abrunzo, whose father, Marty Higgins, was the commanding officer of the Texas Lost Battalion at the time the 442nd RCT rescued it. Later, Higgins helped to lobby Congress for passage of the Immigration Act of 1952 which granted citizenship to the Issei or Japan-born parents of the Japanese Americans.
All are welcome to attend this year’s program in person; the program will also be livestreamed.
The Go For Broke Spirit Photo Exhibit - Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), 1150 18th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Exhibit features images of Japanese American veterans who served during World War II by Shane Sato, a photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. The exhibit runs from June 9-July 22, Monday-Friday, with Saturday hours on June 11.
National Museum of U.S. Army - Saturday, May 16 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, all dinner attendees will be on an guest list for admission on Saturday, May 16. For more information about the museum collection or for tickets to visit on a different day see the website www.thenmusa.org.
Nearby Hotels
Hotel Near National Museum of U.S. Army
Embassy Suites by Hilton, Springfield, VA
8100 Loisdale Road, Springfield VA, 22150 571-339-2000
Hotel Near Japanese Information and Cultural Center
Club Quarters, Washington DC - White House
839 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20006 202-463-6400
Directions to the Museum
National Museum of the United States Army
1775 Liberty Drive, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060
GPS coordinates are 38.7242806/-77.177874
IMPORTANT NOTE: not all GPS systems recognize the Museum’s street address “1775 Liberty Drive, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060”. When using GPS, please confirm your GPS directions match the driving directions below.
Please see museum website for map: https://www.thenmusa.org/visit/directions-parking/