Senior civilian discusses Asia-Pacific heritage

Spokesman Magazine, May, 2005 by Amber L. Cargile

Editor's Note: May is Asia-Pacific American Heritage observance month. AIA's executive director and senior civilian, Mr. Don Get, talked to Spokesman about the importance of remembering heritage and the transformation of the civilian workforce.

Spokesman: As a senior leader and an Asia-Pacific American, can you please share your perspective on why it's important that we honor the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans?

Mr. Get: It is great to be an American. We are unique in the world in that we're made up of so many different ethnic groups, people from different backgrounds, races, creeds, and religions. Yet we all come together with a unifying principle and idea that makes us Americans. As Americans, we're not forced, as some other countries require, to completely abandon where we come from. We only swear loyalty in an oath to a principle. As a member of the Armed Forces and as an Asian American, I'm really happy that the U.S. government takes time to recognize the achievements and the legacy of Asian-Pacific members of the American society.

Spokesman: Can you speak to the history of Asia Pacific Americans?

Mr. Get: Historically, from the early years of the country to today, Asian Pacific immigrants, and the next generations, have contributed significantly to our country. Probably the most notable large group were the Chinese who came together with another major immigrant group, the Irish, and helped build the Trans-Continental Railroad, with the Chinese working from the Pacific side.

But contrary to popular belief, that isn't the only thing that the Chinese were doing here. They were here as miners, shopkeepers and other professions.

There was immigration from Japan and Korea. The Philippines became a U.S. protectorate before its independence and thus there is a large Filipino-American representation in the United States. The same is true of other areas in Asia, as well as Hawaii, Guam and other Pacific islands. In fact, there are over 30 different ethnic groups that are considered "Asia-Pacific Americans".

Yet, when you meet an Asia Pacific American, they don't typically introduce themselves as Asian Americans. I'm an American. It's marvelous that in the United States, we accept the same principles and ideals that make us Americans. It is not born into a certain race. And that's very different from other countries.

Spokesman: Can you provide us some examples of notable Asia Pacific Americans?

Mr. Get: A couple of genuine American heroes come to mind. One of them is Senator Dan Inyoue. He was with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II, whose motto was "Go for broke". This was a unit that was mostly, but not completely, made up of Japanese-Americans who were from the internment camps. Now these are folks who basically were told, "Pick up whatever you can pack in one suitcase, get on a train, leave your homes. Your homes are going to be possessed by others. We're going to put you into the interior of the country because we don't trust you." And people who were as little as 1/15th Japanese were interned.

Nonetheless, they lobbied the capability to form a unit to fight for the United States, and Senator Inyoue was one of those, wounded in action, and eventually he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

In an interesting and ironic twist of fate, the Army chief of staff who happened to preside over that (recent) awards ceremony, was Gen. Eric Shinseki, a Japanese-American from Hawaii who reached the highest level in the United States Army. Not too many other countries in the world will have someone who is not considered the majority ethnic group running their nation's army, yet Eric Shinseki, a wounded Vietnam hero in his own right, did that.

There are some others who are less well known. There is a gentleman by the name of Harry Fukuhara who was a sergeant in the Army in World War II, and he followed MacArthur through his campaign through the Southwest Pacific all the way to Japan as a young member of the Military Intelligence Service. The 442nd and the 100th Battalion had a lot of publicity.

The Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service did not get the same publicity, because it was military intelligence. They served as interrogators, translators, and intercept operators for the United States forces, to help understand exactly what the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy were doing.

Let me add a couple of more government notables. I'm just so proud of these folks--Elaine Chao, secretary of labor; and Norman Mineta, secretary of transportation. Also in the private sector there have been tremendous successes among the Asian Americans.

Spokesman: Speaking of the private sector, you've had a robust career, beginning at West Point, through an Army career ... And then transitioning into the private sector when you worked for Northrop Grumman. Could you comment on what led you to make the leap back into federal service again?

Mr. Get: My family has some tradition in the military. My uncle was an Army paratrooper and my father was a crew chief for the Flying Tigers in the old Army Air Corps during WWII. For myself, I had a very, very challenging, rewarding, enjoyable career in the Army, and at a point, before I hit mandatory retirement, I was looking at the private sector. I always wondered if I could really be successful in the private sector, and it's very easy to determine how well you're doing. They don't give you inflated OPR's, they give you cash bonuses.