A Bridgeport family marked a very special milestone as their patriarch gets ready to turn 100 years old.

Spend some time with retired steel worker and proud American John Tenn, and you'll quickly understand why his family says he's still quick on his feet mentally, despite being just days away from his 100th birthday.

Tenn is known for being a hard worker and a beloved member of the Bridgeport community.

Tenn, who shortened his name from "Tenn Kin Sing," is also part of a dark chapter in American history, having been sent to a Japanese American internment camp, even though he is not of Japanese ancestry, but rather of Jamaican Chinese heritage.

"Guys like me with the name Tenn, Wong, Chin -- those names -- they said that we could be Japanese," said Tenn.

He was acquitted and let go.

As the proud patriarch gets ready to cross the century mark, his family is using the milestone to support a measure now before Congress that would promote education about the country's treatment of all Americans of Asian descent during World War II.

The bill the family's supporting passed Congress but must now go before the Senate. If passed and signed into law, it would direct the National Park Service to promote education about the country's treatment of Asian Americans during World War II.