The American Legion Sadao Munemori Post 321 presented its 23rdscholarship in the name of Sadao Munemori to graduating senior Yingyin Tan on April 26 at the Abraham Lincoln High School Junior ROTC awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Cadet Colonel Tan was the class battalion commander and will attend Caltech with majors in bioengineering and computer science. She received the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross, a national JROTC achievement award selected from 4,000 entrants. It was the first time since 2009 that a Los Angeles Unified School District student won the award, which is based on excellence in JROTC, academics and community service.
Master Sergeant (retired) Herbert Harris and Sergeant First Class (retired) Jeffrey Page, Army instructors, conducted the awards program.
Munemori was a 1940 graduate of Lincoln High and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles. On April 5, 1945, while serving with A Company, 100thBattalion, 442ndRegimental Combat Team, in Seravezza, Italy, he became the first Japanese American Medal of Honor recipient of 23 awarded from World War II to the Vietnam War.