Happy Birthday Mr. Toki

Toki Middle School students attended a birthday party I hope they won't soon forget. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the students and faculty held a 90th birthday party for the school's namesake, Akira Toki.

Toki is a WWII veteran who was born in Madison in 1916. Being part of the only Japanese family to live in Madison could not have been easy once WWII came around, but he joined the Army because he loved his country even if everyone in the country didn't love him at the time. He earned a Purple Heart and was wounded twice during the war, including a head injury from shrapnel that went through him helmet. He also took part in a rescue effort where only 21 of the 200 men in Toki's unit survived. His service didn't stop after the war either. He has donated books and his time to the Toki students.

I can't think of anyone that deserves a long life more than Toki. I hope he gets many more years here to teach the kids at Toki Middle School all that he has to offer.