SAN JOSE - Today, a group of Japanese-American men held in internment camps during World War II will receive a formal apology. But this time, the words of contrition are coming from members of their own community.

The men were war resisters. At a painful time when interned Japanese-Americans were encouraging their sons to serve in the U.S. military as the ultimate proof of loyalty, nearly 300 young men across the West took a different stand. They refused to serve in the racially segregated, all-Nisei (or second-generation Japanese-American) battalions until their rights were restored and their families were released from internment camps.

They were ostracized by the community, tried by the government and sent to prison.

Now, in an effort to mend a decades-long rift, these men will receive recognition that they had a right to stand up and protest. The acknowledgment and apology, at a public ceremony in San Francisco, will come from the Japanese American Citizens League, the nation's oldest and most influential Asian-American civil rights organization -- and one of the groups most critical of the resisters' wartime actions. About two dozen of the resisters, many of whom are in their late 70s and 80s, are expected to attend.

"This is very, very meaningful," said Arthur Hansen, a professor of history at California State University-Fullerton, who has studied World War II resistance movements. "This is probably the most fiercely debated issue since the passage of redress. For the resisters, this is vindication."

For years, the question of whether the resisters deserved an apology has been the topic of heated debate in letters and columns in Japanese-American newspapers. While some younger Japanese-Americans said it was time to recognize the resisters' courage, older members of the community remained staunchly opposed.

The Japanese American Citizens League and the resisters say today's ceremony will end a debate that has divided the community for decades, but some Japanese-Americans remain passionately opposed to the apology.

More than one dozen Nisei veteran groups throughout California have passed resolutions opposing the ceremony. Some worry that the apology trivializes the sacrifices of those who did step forward even though their families were interned. More than 600 of the 4,500 men who served in the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 100th Battalion were killed, the highest casualty rate of any American unit during World War II. They received more than 18,000 individual citations for bravery.

Others say there is no reason for the league to apologize for actions it took during wartime.

"The draft resisters had the right to object to serving in military service, we acknowledge that; but they also have to face the consequences of that act," said Leo Hosoda, 80, who served with the Military Intelligence Service during the war and lives in Sacramento. "We do not feel like the JACL needs to apologize for any action that wartime JACL leaders took."

Sus Satow, 79, who fought in Europe as part of the 442nd, said it's difficult for younger generations to understand what life was for Japanese-Americans during the war years. He fears that apologizing to the resisters glosses over an episode that many at the time feared would have serious consequences for the community as a whole.

Karl Kinaga, 78, a San Jose veteran who was interned at Heart Mountain in Wyoming, said it was the heroism of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service that helped make it easier for Japanese-Americans after the war.

Had those men not acted so bravely, Kinaga said, it would have been difficult for Japanese-Americans to resettle and to later launch the fight for redress.

Few argue that Nisei veterans' sacrifices helped make it easier for the community in the postwar years. But many younger Japanese-Americans say there is still room to honor both camps for the choices they made.

"All we're saying is that we need to respect the different choices that people made," said Andy Noguchi, a Sansei (or third-generation Japanese-American), a member of the Florin JACL chapter, and the son of a 442nd veteran. "People wanted to stand up against racism and stand up against internment. As a civil rights organization, that's something the JACL should recognize."

Rather than condemn the men for not enlisting, Noguchi said, the public should recognize their courage for taking an unpopular, but principled stand during a difficult time.

For years, few in the close-knit community talked about what happened to the men who refused to report for military duty when the government began drafting young Japanese-American men from internment camps. Even the resisters themselves remained silent. Most were busy rebuilding their lives and thought nothing was to be gained from dredging up painful memories.

Even today, after several books and a documentary about their actions, many resisters still find it difficult to talk about what happened.

"There's still a lot of hard feelings because of the ostracism that went on," Noguchi said. "A lot of resisters were labeled as traitors and cowards, and it was a very difficult situation for them."

Ken Yoshida, 78, a resister from San Mateo, said he's pleased the resisters' story is finally being told.

"The more people hear about it, the better," he said. He has mixed feelings about the apology, but said any attempt to get the veterans and resisters talking is a positive step.

For Mits Koshiyama, 77, of San Jose, the ceremony is an important step.

"I'm happy that the JACL has finally realized their wartime mistakes," he said. "Every group has a right to express their opinions, to do what they think is right. But JACL used their power by cooperating with the government to suppress people who wanted to fight for constitutional rights."