John F. Aiso

John F. Aiso (December 14, 1909 - December 1987) was an accomplished American Nisei military leader and a distinguished lawyer and judge.

He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1934. Between 1935 and 1952 Judge Aiso worked in private practice in Los Angeles and New York.

Lieutenant Colonel Aiso was the highest-ranking Japanese American in the United States Army during Second World War.

In 1952, he served as a Commissioner for one year. He was then appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1953. He was later elevated to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Aiso became an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, November 4, 1968.

United States President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Legion of Merit in 1965 for his service during World War II. He was inducted into the Military Intelligence Corp Hall of Fame in 1991.

The Aiso Library at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is named for John F. Aiso in honor of his contributions as the chief instructor of what became the Military Intelligence Service Language School, the predecessor of the Defense Language Institute.

In the Little Tokyo community of Los Angeles, a one block segment of San Pedro St. between Temple Blvd. and 1st Street has been renamed Judge John F. Aiso Street in honor of the judge.

External links

*http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal/2ndDistrict/justices/former/AisoJ.pdf
*http://www.mnhs.org/market/mhspress/MinnesotaHistory/FeaturedArticles/4507273-287/index.htm
*http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=H0200
*http://dlilibrary.monterey.army.mil/aisolib.htm