The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) will recognize three outstanding individuals at its 42nd National Convention, to be held in Los Angeles, California on July 7-10.

The award recipients are Reverend Vien The Nguyen, pastor of Mary Queen of Viet Nam Catholic Church in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana; Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), and Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, who made news in March 2009, announcing he was gay on “The Rachel Maddow Show” on TV.

Pre-Katrina, New Orleans East had an enclave of Vietnamese Americans, predominantly Catholics, who came to the area after the Vietnam war in 1975. Post- Katrina, this quiet community was forced to fight against the plan to turn most of New Orleans East into a toxic landfill. As pastor of the parish, Fr. Vien led the effort in the community to defend their homes which was documented in the film, “A Village Called Versailles.”

National CAPACD worked on housing and community development needs of low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Ms. Hasegawa is also an active board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation. She also currently serves on AT&T's Consumer Advisory Council and Freddie Mac's Affordable Housing Advisory Council. She has provided leadership for the National Council for Asian Pacific Americans for over a decade, serving as the Chair from 2006 through 2007.

Despite Lt. Choi’s immense value as an Arabic speaker, a month after his announcement, the Army began its discharge proceedings against him. He was one of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic.