Miyamura memorialized
Congressional Medal of Honor recipient's statue unveiled Friday

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Hershey Miyamura laughs while posing next to a bronze statue of himself during an unveiling event on Friday morning. The statue was done by Ute-Navajo artist Orland Joe and will be on display at the new Miyamura High School. [photo by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — A crowd of about 150 people showed up Friday morning to see the unveiling of the memorial to Congressional Medial of Honor recipient Hershey Miyamura.

The speakers included a representative from congressman Tom Udall’s office, state Rep. Patricia Lundstrom and state Sen. Lidio Rainaldi. Miyamura also spoke at the event, which was the first time he saw the 700-pound bronze statue.

The event also kicked off the Native Warriors Run, which is one of many cross-country trips to Washington as part of Memorial Day celebrations.

During the Korean War, Miyamura jumped from a shelter and defended wounded men against about 10 enemy soldiers with his bayonet. He was subsequently captured and spent over two years as a prisoner of war.

The plan for a memorial to Miyamura began with local businessman Bill Richardson, who approached the mayor with the idea. It was determined that funding the project with local money would not be possible. The costs were finally covered with a donation from Richardson and a $40,000 capital outlay grant, which Rainaldi secured. Oreland Joe, who was also at the event, was commissioned to do the sculpture. It was his tenth monument.

“A lot of people would not be alive today if it wasn’t for him,” Calvert Curley, who showed up to speak for Udall, said.
Lundstrom spoke of the need to help veterans and thank them for their sacrifice and service. She said her father asked her to help veterans if she made it to Santa Fe. She also spoke of the significance of the Congressional Medal of Honor and those who receive it.

“This is one of the few Americans that, when he walks into the room, the president stands up for,” Lundstrom told the crowd.

Rainaldi spoke of the 1942 order, signed by President Roosevelt, that created the Japanese intern camps during World War II. At the time Miyamura was a student at Gallup High School. The city of Gallup refused to comply with the order, and as of result, Rainaldi said, Miyamura stayed in Gallup. If he’d have been sent to the camps along with other Americans of Japanese decent, Gallup may not have one of the 150 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Joe told the crowd that he felt honored and privileged to have been chosen to do the statue. He then sung a song “Rides the Wind,” about courageous warriors.

Miyamura spoke of his gratitude and pride to see so many participating in the Native Warriors Run and the Run For the Wall events.

“I just can’t explain in words what this means to us,” he said.

As the statue was unveiled, the crowd chanted the Run For The Wall call “All The Way.”