Tetsujino'Tex" Nakamuna

Tex Nakamura told the young people at Tule Lake, ". . .we have this basic thing called a Constitution and that we have certain rights. In order to protect our rights, we have to fight for them. Nobody is going to give them to us for free." Although Nakamura had leave clearance from Tule Lake in 1945, he decided to stay on and work with Wayne M. Collins in forming the Tule Lake Defense committee on behalf of those who had renounced their citizenship. "l wanted to do something for these people. You know, the government gave them a raw deal."

For the next 23 years, as Collins' associate, Tex traveled extensively, interviewing renunciants at many Department of Justice camps, in Seabrook, New Jersey and Japan. The Collins' team filed more than 10,000 affidavits on behalf of renunciants. By 1968, 4,982 Japanese Americans had their citizenship restored. For his courageous fight on behalf of the renunciants, NCRR presents him with a "Fighting Spirit Award."