A veteran from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team came to see the show, loved the production, and met the cast afterwards. (The 442nd is the all-Japanese-American WWII battalion that became the most highly decorated unit in military history).
Turns out he showed up the next day with an envelope containing his Purple Heart and 442nd uniform insignia and a letter asking that they travel with the show, so that the actor can wear them in the scene at the end of the first act in which the soldier returns from war. He didn\'t leave a name. His accompanying letter said, "The items are given to the show as a token of appreciation and for luck. Please respect and honor them so that the emblems and all veterans who have received them will be honored and appreciated."
That afternoon, Mike Lee wore the medal in the scene in which he plays young Paul Narita, returning from Europe having lost a leg in combat. As I was sitting there in the fifth row, I saw the medal over Mike\'s heart and thought "is that a new costume piece? ...ohhhhh...that must be...he must have...Wow." It was incredibly moving. I later heard from a couple of the actors on stage with Mike that they, too, were taken by surprise, fighting back tears as they realized how the medal had come to be pinned over his heart.
According to his letter, the man wanted his donation to be anonymous, to honor the veterans of the 442nd and of all wars. An incredible gesture. He had dropped off his medal and disappeared. But with a little detective work, I was able to reach him by phone the next day. Our benefactor insisted on remaining anonymous. "It\'s not about one person," he told me, "It\'s in honor of all the veterans, of all the men who made the sacrifice." He reiterated his wish that the medal and the patch travel with the show, wherever it may go. The best gratitude he could receive, he said, and the best way to honor his gift, was to continue bringing the messages of Making Tracks to audiences across the country. I promised we would continue to strive to do just that.
Again and again I\'m reminded what a privilege and a responsibility it is to be telling the stories of Making Tracks. In the four years we\'ve been working on it, we\'ve met so many thousands of people who have struck such a personal connection with the show. We\'ve met immigrants, children of immigrants and their children, Japanese-Americans who survived the internment camps, stars of the old Forbidden City, Chinese-American descendants of the men who built the railroads in the 1800s...and Americans of every ethnicity who joined us in honoring the struggles, sacrifices, and successes of Asian Americans.
We\'ve had an incredible journey with Making Tracks, and this latest chapter is the most amazing yet.
-Brian Yorkey - Co-Bookwriter/Lyricist, Making Tracks
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