In a dignified but bittersweet ceremony, the Japanese American Citizens League offered a formal apology to a group of men whose stand for civil rights more than 50 years ago divided the Japanese-American community.

``Words cannot restore what was lost and erase the suffering that occurred,'' said Floyd Mori, president of the national JACL. ``But let us leave any wrongs that have occurred in the past.''

Saturday's event in San Francisco marked a turning point for a group of men known as draft resisters.

For years, these men had fought for recognition from the JACL and within their own community that the stand they took during World War II -- refusing to enlist in the army unless their civil rights were restored and their families were first released from internment camps -- was justified. ``I'm glad they are finally recognizing that our stand wasn't wrong,'' said Mits Koshiyama, a resister from San Jose.

Said Gene Akutsu, a resister from Seattle: ``We were just asking for our constitutional rights.''

During the 2 1/2-hour program, which the Rev. Newton Ishura called a ``ceremony of healing,'' speakers praised the resisters for their willingness to stand for what they thought was right despite overwhelming community pressure to enlist. At the time, then-JACL President Saburo Kido said the resisters from the Heart Mountain internment camp should be charged with sedition.

Convicted for evading the draft, 282 men served up to three years in prison. Even though they were later pardoned by President Truman, many were still viewed as outcasts by many Japanese-Americans.

The resisters -- 21 of whom attended Saturday's ceremony -- seemed almost overwhelmed by the attention. More than 200 people attended the event. For some resisters, Saturday was the first time they had spoken publicly about their wartime experiences.

George Kurasaki of Sunnyvale never attended other programs where people talked about the resisters' actions but thought it was important he be part of Saturday's event.

For more than a decade, the JACL debated whether the resisters deserved an apology. Many veterans groups were opposed to the gesture, saying that such an action trivialized the bravery of the men who chose to fight despite their families being interned. The all-nisei 100th/442nd combat units were the most decorated of World War II and suffered a high number of casualties.

Even though a dozen nisei veterans groups passed resolutions opposing Saturday's ceremony, other veterans said it was time to bury old grudges.

``It was a failure of our government that caused conflict among us,'' said Marvin Uratsu, who served in the Military Intelligence Service. ``Why continue to hurt each other for what the government did to us? Let there be reconciliation, and let it begin with me.''

The resisters, too, expressed their admiration for the veterans.

After receiving a plaque from Mori, the JACL president, Joe Yamekido, a resister from Half Moon Bay, rushed to the microphone: ``I just wanted to thank all the vets for what they did,'' he said. ``They made life better for my kids.''