A $25,000 grant from the Wyoming Semiquincentennial Planning Task Force will enable the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation to bring Defining Courage, an immersive live event about Japanese American soldiers during World War II, to the Heart Mountain Pilgrimage next July.
Created by Los Angeles newscaster David Ono, Defining Courage tells the story of the Japanese American soldiers who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service and the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion. They were considered some of the greatest fighting units in U.S. military history.
“On a personal level, I was overwhelmed by the live performance of Defining Courage,” said HMWF Executive Director Aura Sunada Newlin. “My great uncle is one of the soldiers profiled in the production, and as someone who lives and breathes this history, I was unprepared for how moving – and even transformative – the experience was. I left the production thinking that every American should see Defining Courage!”
The Wyoming Semiquincentennial Planning Task Force was created by the Wyoming legislature to support events honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
HMWF Deputy Director Rebecca McKinley coordinated the program with Jennifer Thoma of Park County America 250. Vital support came from Ono and Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum and a Heart Mountain board member.