"If we put American citizens into concentration camps, we put democracy in there with them."
Friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"UNA STORIA SEGRETA"
The Secret Story

While Joe DiMaggio and an estimated 1.2 million Americans of Italian descent were fighting to preserve America's freedom during World War II, more than half a million Italians living in America were losing many of those same freedoms. In 1941, under Executive Order 9066, the Department of Justice declared all persons of Italian, Japanese, and German descent as "enemy aliens." In October of 1999, Bill H.R. 2442, "Wartime Violations of Italian American Civil Liberties Act" was introduced to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Many congressmen, including Chairman Henry J. Hyde, were shocked to learn of the treatment Italian Americans had to endure while their brothers, uncles and relatives were sacrificing their lives to protect and preserve the country they called the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

One of those to testify was Joe DiMaggio's brother, Dominic DiMaggio, who enlisted in the Navy half-way through the 1942 baseball season. Dominic DiMaggio: "I am here today in hopes that we can bring to light the tragic events of the past and honor those that had to endure them...I was not the only son to come home from the war to find that their parents or other members of their family had suddenly become enemy aliens...I remember my dad was forbidden from..."

When we entered World War II, we did not know if Hitler could be conquered. However, after four long years, great sacrifices, and some 50 million lives, the man who was voted into power by one vote per precinct, was defeated.

As you continue your American Journey, you will learn more about this "one vote," how it changed the world forever, the "four fathers" - - the Founding Fathers, the Immigrant Fathers, the Veteran Fathers, my father and Our Father.

Someone once said, "To be born free is a privilege. To die free is an awesome responsibility." Being a privileged American, and gratefully accepting my responsibility, I believe that to live free is an honor. Thus, "Lest We Forget" honors those who made it possible for us to be living free by continuing to share their stories through THE AMERICAN JOURNEY web site, "Dear Daddy" letters, and THE FACES OF ELLIS ISLAND Story Note Cards.

We invite you to join us in this preservation of our freedom, our families and our spiritual heritage, by following the immigrants' experiences through the 18 Illustrated Story Note Cards, returning to this web site, and taking a moment to share a "moment" with loved ones, lest we forget.