Japanese Sailors to March in Tacoma's Memorial Day Parade
In a historic first, Japanese naval regulars will march alongside U.S. troops during Memorial Day ceremonies in Tacoma.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Tacoma will have the distinction of being the first city in the world to celebrate Memorial Day with a parade in which regulars from a foreign army will participate side by side with regulars of Uncle Sam. The coming of the Japanese fleet to this city the week ending with May 29 will give opportunity for this occasion, and Tacoma will celebrate Decoration Day one day earlier, as the usual date comes on a Sunday. Both the Japanese and American soldiers, with the respective battleships that will be here, have agreed to parade in Tacoma. All the fraternal organizations will be out and it will be a gala day. The fleets will reach here May 25. May 28 will be baseball day, and the American sailors will tackle the ball team of the Japanese. The celebration will culminate with the big Memorial Day celebration May 29.
“Tacoma will have the distinction of being the first city in the world to celebrate Memorial Day with a parade in which regulars from a foreign army will participate side by side with regulars of Uncle Sam.”
This 1909 report highlights a brief period of diplomatic 'gala' between U.S. and Japanese navies, a stark contrast to the anti-Asian exclusionist climate that defined Tacoma’s political reality just years prior. It captures a moment of state-sanctioned internationalism that masks the systemic local hostility the city’s Japanese residents would continue to face.
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