The first federal legislation to pass which specifically mentioned the internment of German Americans and Latin Americans was introduced by Rep. Mike Honda as House Resolution 56. It passed in March 2004. It called for a National Day of Remembrance on February 19, the date of the signing of Executive Order 9066. The National Day of Remembrance would serve to commend and acknowledge the efforts of the Japanese, German and Italian American communities to commemorate the wartime treatment of certain members of those communities during World War II. On February 13, 2007, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a second resolution, H. Res.122 which acknowledged the 65th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. This resolution also recognized the wartime treatment of all affected ethnic groups and again called for a National Day of Remembrance.
In accordance with H. Res. 56, serveral Japanese American Congressmen, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, issued the CAPAC Day of Remembrance Letter in February 2009 expressing appreciation to Day of Remembrance organizers for their diligence to increase public awareness of the Day of Remembrance and its importance in the history of the United States. Former German American internees were invited to participate in several Day of Remembrance ceremonies across the country which was greatly appreciated. We hope to participate in more such ceremonies in the future.