By Alemarie Ceria
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While competing in National History Day’s (NHD) National competition, Senior Megan Maderia learned of NHD’s Salute to Freedom competition. In a limited amount of time, Madeira wrote two essays; one discussed the process of NHD and in the other, she talked about how WWII affected Hawaii. Madeira won, was chosen to go to New Orleans to represent the state of Hawaii from January 4 to 10, and gave a speech at the Congressional Medal Ceremony.
“It was definitely worth the stress because (it’s) more than a free trip. I got to meet a lot of interesting and important people like the veterans and (United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric) Shinseki,” explained Madeira.
The highlight of Madeira’s five-day trip was when the National Veterans Foundation asked her to give a speech at the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony held at the National WWII Museum. A Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian awards in the U.S. and is given to individuals who have majorly influenced American history. In her essay, Madeira discussed mainly of how the 442nd Regimental Combat Team has affected Hawaii by fighting against Germans and the prejudice back home. Because she covered the topic of veterans in the 442nd, she was the only one out of the 51 participants asked to do the honor of giving the speech. “When they asked me to do the speech, I was unbelievably nervous and scared,” said Madeira, continuing, “but it ended up being okay.”
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Go For Broke National Education Center, Christine Sato-Yamazaki added, “I was sitting next to Megan during the ceremony. All of us around her knew that she was very nervous but we encouraged (her) to take a deep breath and do her best. She did an outstanding job and we were so proud of her.”
In front of more than 50 people, Madeira’s speech revealed her gratefulness for the contributions of Japanese-Americans who fought in WWII and how they have impacted today’s generation. “It feels amazing because they really opened doors for Japanese-Americans,” explained Madeira. Not only did Madeira give a speech, but she also had the chance to converse with Shinseki. They discussed how people of today have opportunities because of veterans, like him. “By opportunities, I mean freedom to be successful and ending racial barriers for everyone in the country,” stated Madeira, continuing, “It’s super important to keep what they’ve done alive.”
The audience expressed their gratitude to Madeira by telling her they enjoyed her speech and found it informative and emotional. “It touched me greatly that she understood that the service of the past generations helped to pave the way for our current generation to enjoy the freedom and liberties we have today,” explained Sato-Miyazaki.
Social Studies teacher Amy Perruso believes that Madeira benefited greatly from this experience. “Megan was fortunate to be able to spend some time reflecting and sharing her thoughts on the work of the recently deceased Senator Daniel Inouye and the sacrifices made by the men of the 442nd in WWII. I think that the insights gained from such work have already helped her see her role as a citizen of Hawaii differently,” stated Perruso.
The Japanese-Americans of the most decorated infantry regiment in the history of the United States Army won the war against the Germans and the prejudice. To keep those veterans’ fighting spirit alive, in the future, Madeira wants to do something along the field of human rights and support people who do not have equality in their lives.
