I am not Japanese, but as I opened this book, my eyes kept tearing up. This is not an emotional book, but the question that I’ve asked since high school has made me tear up, once again. The question is – how, how could these men volunteer to fight of a country that, in all actuality stripped them of their citizenship and found them of guilty of things they haven’t even thought of doing? The American government had taken their homes, their livelihood, and their place in the society. Their families were forced to live behind barbed wire fences when these men willingly and bravely fought for the country which had put them there. How? How could they have done that? I wish I could say I’d do the same, but even now, my answer, when it comes down to it is I don’t know…. I’m afraid my heart is not big enough to forgive them. So, I read this book in matter of hours (yes, it’s a short book full of gorgeous pictures). In the earlier pages, next to forward, there’s a picture of a beautiful girl. The caption says – An American school girl and I’m crying. I thank Ansel Adams for his humanity.
I’ve known the story about 442nd combat team since high school. My high school was very good about bringing survivors (Holocaust week) or participants (Japanese internment) for special talks. And fortunately for me, one of my best friends from high school was Japanese and her father generously shared his own stories. I’ll get back to what I remember most of his stories, but for now, I’ll be getting back to 442nd.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army was a regimental size fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese descent who volunteered to fight in World War II even though their families were subject to internment. The 442nd, beginning in 1944, fought primarily in Europe during World War II. The 442nd was a self-sufficient force, and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The 442nd is considered to be the most decorated infantry regiment in the history of the United States Army. The 442nd was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations and twenty-one of its members were awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team motto was, "Go for Broke". (From Wikipedia)
This is one of those books I’d list as a “must read” for everyone. Not because of its plot, writing, character development, dialogue, etc., but for its content. This book contains beautiful Ansel Adams photos, but that’s not the reason. This is a story that every American should try to remember, just as the Germans try not to bury holocaust in the annals of their history.
After having read the book, I think I understand the reason, at least a little bit. The simple answer is the dignity of the Japanese Americans interned in Mazanar. They, as a group, took the high road when everything around them imploded and turned ugly. How they were treated by their government didn’t warrant them losing sight of their own dignity and respect. No matter what happened, they’d be true to the values they were born to and raised with. When I read about a mother whose five sons were in the American Armed services fighting in the European theater, I prayed for her sons (of course, the absurdity is that they might have survived the war and all died of old age). I don’t know why this book affected me this way, but it did.
A couple of years ago, yet another movie about Nazi atrocities came out in theaters, and I asked a friend of mine who had come to America to study then married. I asked her what she thought of yet another movie. Didn’t she get tired of this German bashing? I’d get tired of it if I had to see a movie about Nazi atrocities every couple of years. And she said, she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she felt that it’s every German’s responsibility to remember the holocaust so that it could never happen again, not only in Germany, but anywhere else in the world because there will be a German voice protesting it. I found this very inspirational.
As Americans, we need to follow suit. We need to look squarely into the past and see what we’ve done, what we still fail to do today, and what concrete steps we must take to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again here.
Additional note: The people who were at the Manzanar internment camp were those who chose to sign the loyalty oath. Those who refused to sign the loyalty oath were sent elsewhere. Most of those who didn’t sign the oath believed that the government had broken the sacred contract with them first (which I whole heartedly agree), and not because they were Japanese agents waiting for opportunities to sabotage the west coast. Later, after the war, it was revealed that most of the intel on America that the Japanese had were in fact from the Germans, rather than anyone from America.
This book wasn't received well when it first came out almost right after the war (there could be a possiblity of our government pulling from shelves right after the war). I think Ansel Adams must have recieved his share of hate mails for this book, especially from mothers and wives of men who has lost their lives in the Pacific theater of war. I admire his courage.
A digression and a funny note about my friend's father from high school - he share several stories with me, but one that stuck with me all these years was the story about how he suddenly had all his friends with him right next door, and the kids thought it was great! Because they got to play long past their regular time outside the fence. These kids didn't see the barbed wire fences or the soldiers standing guard in the towers. This innocence makes me profoundly hopeful because it speaks to the resilience of the human spirit.
Is this one of my favorite books? Does it rank with Les Miserables and such? No, but I love this book for it's humanity. I think it is one of the most important books for people (especially Americans) to read, and that’s why I’m putting it in my blog.
