Often they were overlooked or suffered discrimination, but members of racial minorities provided gallant military service that was vital to winning World War II.

That was the message of a ceremony Monday in which officials saluted blacks, Indians, Hispanics and people of Asian heritage who fought for America during that war.Veterans of that age group are dwindling in number, and many survivors are infirm. World War II veterans were not present for the first event on Monday, held in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 500 Foothill Blvd. However, one Indian veteran of World War II and others who served in the Vietnam and Desert Storm conflicts were able to attend a ceremony later that day in the medical center.

LaVonne Willis, director of the Utah Office of Veterans Affairs, noted that his great-uncle was a member of a black regiment in the days of segregation during World War I. The regiment fought alongside French troops and many of its soldiers won France's highest military awards.

In World War II, he said, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, another black organization, flew fighter escorts for bombers. The brave men of the squadron "proved to the skeptics and to the Germans both that they were wrong" in assuming black people couldn't master aviation. They were part of a long line of black service members dating to the Revolution.

Forrest S. Cuch, a member of the Northern Ute Tribe and the director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, said that when his father fought in World War II, the older Cuch and a friend who was a Pueblo Indian were called to listen to an officer's radio. The officer asked them to translate the message that was coming over.

The message was spoken by one of the Navajo code-talkers, whose contributions were crucial both in Europe and the Pacific. No other code-talker was around to translate it. But the Ute and the Pueblo man listened and had to tell the officer that they couldn't tell what he was saying.

Just because they were Indians didn't mean they could speak that particular Indian language, they pointed out.

In fact, said Cuch, the code-talking by the Navajo, Lakota, Choctaw and other groups was never cracked by the enemy. "Only recently are they receiving credit in the history books," he said.

"Our people continue to serve this country. It's our country too. We don't forget that."

Major Mark A. Ramirez of the Marine Corps noted that his father was an American citizen born in this country to a couple from Mexico, who returned to Mexico. When Ramirez's father went to San Diego and joined the Marine Corps, at first "he had a hard time, to be honest, because he didn't speak English."

However, he added, "the military for many Hispanics is an opportunity." He called for more Hispanic students to stay in high school and earn diplomas so they can take advantage of such opportunities.

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Capt. Catherine L. Hawkins of the Army Quartermaster Corps., herself a Japanese-American, noted the courage of the nisei, the Americans of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. Despite discrimination, many nisei joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose nickname was "Go For Broke" because of their daring and drive.

"Let us never forget the sacrifices" made by Asian-Americans in World War II, Hawkins said.

James R. Floyd, director of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, said he hopes that this is the first of a yearly series of commemorations of the contributions of minority members of the military.

You can reach Joe Bauman by e-mail at bau@desnews.com

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