The Los Angeles Dodgers will conduct Japan Night at tonight’s interleague game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium, including honoring a former internee as the Military Hero of the Game.
Robert Izumi of Belvedere, California was incarcerated at the Manzanar Internment Camp when a teacher pulled him from it so he could finish his education.
Izumi joined the Army in 1944 and was assigned to the all-Japanese- American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.
He transferred to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, which included Easy Company, the unit known as the Band of Brothers, which was later the subject of a book and HBO miniseries.
Izumi transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1945, and became a member of the U.S. Air Force in 1947 when it became a separate branch of the military.
He served in the Korean and Vietnam wars and was discharged as a chief master sergeant in 1975. His decorations include the World War II Victory Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Distinguished United Badge with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and a Bronze Star Medal.
Also in connection with Japan Night, Japanese dancer Kenichi Ebina, the 2013 champion of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” will perform on the field before the game; Exile Atsushi, the lead vocalist for the Japanese dance and vocal group Exile, will perform the Japanese national anthem; and Judith Hill, a soul singer and songwriter of Japanese and African-American descent, will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Hill was among the backup singers featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom.”
Auto gates will open at 4:40 p.m. and stadium gates at 5:10 p.m. The Dodgers will take batting practice from 4:20-5:20 p.m. and the Rays from 5:25- 6:20 p.m. Japan Night pregame ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. The national anthems will be performed beginning at 6:57 p.m., with the game set to start at 7:10 p.m.
