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Cpl. Jonathon Norita, supply clerk, Chamorro-Samoan "In the Chamorro tradition we respect the elders when we take their hand and put it on our foreheads as a greeting." Norita will leave soon for his new duty station in Hawaii as an artilleryman. He says he celebrates Western holidays such as Christmas, but still likes some of the traditional food such as red rice and barbeque chicken.

Photo by Cindy McIntyre

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A celebration of heritage

29 May 2015 | Cindy McIntyre Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

Many cultures elicit both romantic and negative stereotypes for those of another ethnicity, and so it has been with those of Asian descent. The Chinese built the nation's railroads, but were ostracized and then prevented from immigrating by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Japanese served in the U.S. Army in World War II while their families were imprisoned in relocation camps. Pacific Islanders fought to save their rich cultures when their countries were colonized by Americans and Europeans. And Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians were forced to flee to the U.S. when the North Vietnamese captured Saigon in 1975.

For around a half million Asian immigrants between 1910 and 1930, their first stop (and sometimes their last before being turned away) was at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay. Known as the "Ellis Island of the West," Angel Island is now a California state park.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, nearly 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were forced into 10 relocation centers, including two in California. The Manzanar National Historic Site, located at the base of the Sierra Nevadas near Lone Pine, Calif., is the best preserved of these camps.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are now part of the diverse American landscape, and their culture and contributions are honored each May with what is now called Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

From President Barack Obama's recent proclamation honoring this commemoration: "During Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we honor the perseverance of those who courageously reached for their hopes and dreams in a new land, and we celebrate the important impact the AAPI community has made on our Nation's progress … But as we recognize the enormous progress America has made, we must also acknowledge the many struggles AAPIs continue to experience in the face of persistent inequality and bigotry, including barriers to equal access to education, employment, and health care."

As stated on the White House website, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is the fastest growing racial group in the country, and is expected to double to around 47 million by 2060. The nearly 17 million AAPIs in the United States comprise more than 5 percent of the population, and represent more than 30 countries and ethnic groups speaking more than 100 different languages.

When the heritage month was authorized in 1978, the month of May was chosen because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese to America on May 7, 1843, as well as the completion of the mostly Chinese-built transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

For more information: http://asianpacificheritage.gov White House: www.whitehouse.gov/aapi