YOUR ASAMATEURS

R-L: Insun, Jerry, Denise, Lawrence, Edi

Enjoy!

Frank Fong: Fighter Pilot Extreme

An American citizen, Frank Fong wanted to serve his country. He volunteered to join the army in WWII. However, despite Fong’s eagerness and national pride, the army denied him entry because of his race. Fong tried to get local help and support, but was unsuccessful. Eventually he had to write to General Hap Arnold for assistance. After reviewing Fong’s application, General Arnold appointed Fong as a pilot candidate. After training for a year and a half, Frank Fong graduated at the top of his pilot training class and became one of the first Chinese American fighter pilots in WWII.


During the war he successfully and skillfully shot down two German pilot fighters. Unfortunately, during the war he sustained a spinal and eye injury (that led him to be blind in the right eye) that sidelined him from the war. However, due to pilot shortage he was called back to fight despite his condition (the army was unaware of the severity of his injuries and was ignored due to Fong’s eagerness to go back to war and fight). On June 6, 1944, Fong provided air covering during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. He rescued more than 1,000 pilots between January and May 1945. Fong flew ten more missions through June 5-13 before a flight surgeon ordered him to be transferred in order to get an evaluation and treatment on his eye and spine.

Despite his injuries, once again he chose to continue. He also served in the Korean and Vietnam War. Eventually, in 1972, he left the Air Force as a major with more than 400 hours of combat and twenty accolades which includes eight Air Medals, two Distinguished Flying Crosses (highest flying honor), and a purple heart.

Purple Heart


Distinguished Flying Cross


Air Medal

After leaving the service, Fong became a commercial artist. During his retirement he educated hundreds of high school and college students about the contributions of Asian Americans in the military. In everything that he did, he showed respect to the army, his country, and fellow soldiers. Despite a 50-year battle with the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), over disability payments for his blindness in his right eye, Fong never lost love for his country. Even though he faced so much prejudice for being Asian and had such a long battle with the VA, his patriotism never wavered.

In 2007, Frank Fong died. However his story will never be forgotten. Frank Fong broke the barrier for all Chinese Americans. He was a man that had so much passion, and love for his country that he did all he could to defend it. He saw himself as an American. For that, the will always be remembered: Frank Fong, the fighter pilot that kept on fighting



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http://us_asians.tripod.com/timeline-1940.html

http://www.asianweek.com/2009/07/10/chinese-american-hero-frank-fong/

http://www.electronicaviation.com/news/Military/1110
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Denise Lee

Kenji Ito: Man of Many Words

Born in 1909, Kenji Ito was a gifted public speaker, debater, lawyer, and community leader. Correction. Kenji Ito was a Japanese American community leader in a time where Japanese Americans were targeted as secret agents for Japan. In 1935, Ito got his law degree at the University of Washington, and in 1936 he was admitted to the Washington state bar. In 1937, as a 28 year old, he moved back to his native town, Seattle, where he was frequently asked by local civic groups to debate the Sino-Japanese War. He openly expressed Japanese views even though the US supported China.

"I was expressing myself as an American -- of Japanese ancestry, of course - - who knew something about Japan and Japanese history" – Kenji Ito

In over a few years, Ito made 200 pro-Japanese speeches.


In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Within the next few days, federal agents showed up at Ito’s home and arrested him for failing to register as a spy for the Japanese government. The government hoped that they could use Ito’s pro-Japanese speeches as proof of espionage. However, Ito argued that he was just an U.S. citizen merely educating the public. Ito was one of hundreds of Japanese Americans that were arrested by the FBI in wave of hysteria following the Pearl Harbor attacks. Ito was tried, but was founded not guilty by an all white jury. In his closing statements, Ito proved his citizenship and where his loyalty lied.

"I'd rather live in this country behind bars than in another country where the dictator holds the olive branch in one hand and the dagger in the other" – Kenji Ito

Despite his acquittal, Ito and his family were evacuated and sent to internment camps (Tule Lake and then Minidoka) due to the U.S. Executive Order 9066. They were forced to leave everything they had and everyone they knew behind. In the camps he provided legal assistance to those who needed it.

After the war, he moved to LA and opened a law office in Little Tokyo. He was admitted to the California bar in 1945 and continued to practice law for 50 years. In little Tokyo, he helped former internees reclaim the land they lost because the executive order had forced them to abandon their property. He continued to practice law until his early 80s. During that time, he focused on corporate law and represented Japanese companies involved in film, motorcycle, automobile, and consumer product industries. In his lifetime, especially during the 1940’s, despite prejudice and hatred, Ito was able to be an American and still support his Japanese heritage and culture. He did not let government’s injustice affect him negatively, but instead he fought against the injustice and allowed other fellow Japanese Americans get a voice back by helping them reclaim their land and place in the states.

...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/15/BA291862.DTL

http://us_asians.tripod.com/timeline-1940.html
....

Denise Lee

What ethnicity are you?

Consider for a moment all of your Asian friends.

Now think about all of the ones who call themselves "Chinese".

And now, think of those who consider themselves "Taiwanese".

Now consider the physical and cultural similarities between those who consider themselves "Chinese" and "Taiwanese". Most likely, you'll find that these two groups look almost physically identical and share multiple cultural similarities.

Now consider what would happen if you called a "Taiwanese" person "Chinese" or vice versa. If you're like me, or anyone who has Taiwanese friends, you'll know that upon being called Chinese, the Taiwanese person would instantly correct you, either casually or harshly.

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Why is it that the Taiwanese take so much offense to being called Chinese? After all, they share identical physical traits, and their cultures have many similarities. Why is it that there is so much friction between them? The answer comes from the late period of the Chinese Civil War in which two distinct cultural identities were formed.

The Chinese Civil War was a conflict between the then in power Nationalists led by Chiang Kai Shek (who was backed by the United States) and the Communist leader Mao Zedong. The war initially favored Chiang Kai Shek, but then quickly turned sour when Mao gained support from the popular masses and eventually forced Chiang Kai Shek to retreat to the island of Formosa. This island would later be renamed Taiwan. It was here that the final battle of the Chinese Civil War was fought and where two different cultural identities were formed.

In the mainland, the Communist forces of Mao Zedong were victorious. Communist China quickly became a dominating force, exerting influence over the events of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The "Communist Chinese" identity quickly became synonymous with the "People's identity" in that the Communist ideals were directed at the masses. It is there that modern Chinese-American identity is derived. Almost all those who came to America after the defeat of Chiang Kai Shek were those who did not fit into the Communist system. To them, the word "Communist" was taboo and associated with terror, hate, and oppression. Those who came to the here sought refuge from regime that was Mao Zedong.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who consider themselves Taiwanese. These people are the survivors of the Chinese Civil War. Their cultural identity is scarred with defeat from the Communists. Like those who came to America from the Chinese mainland, they too held a strong hatred for the Communists. But their hatred stemmed not from oppression, but rather from defiance. The Taiwanese saw themselves as righteous compared to the Communists. When they came to America, it was by choice. Those who are Taiwanese pride themselves in their existence. They were never oppressed, but rather, defeated. Now the first generation that came here to America carries the bitterness of defeat with them.

Despite a mutual hatred of the Communist regime, Taiwanese-Americans and Chinese-Americans both have conflicting identities in America.

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Edwina "Edi" Dai

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Taiwan_NASA_Terra_MODIS_23791.jpg
http://telematicsnews.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/taiwan_flag1.jpg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1285915.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/04/taiwan_flashpoint/html/chinas_stance.stm

We Love Spam!

Spam was introduced in 1937, and its popularity all over the world including Asia, Europe, and the United States caused it to influence millions of people’s daily diet until the present day. It is a canned product made by the Hormel Foods Corporations; its main ingredient is pork’s shoulder meat. It has been continuously popular in Asia in the 1940s and 50s, especially in South Korea and Japan because of the U.S. army base there. I believe Spam has been a significant food product in human history because of the following reasons: it transformed and created many Asian countries’ food, it dominates part of Asia’s food industry, and it shows which Asian countries had been impacted by wars.

Spam has definitely created innovative foods in Asia because many Asian countries have at least one food that is cooked with Spam. For example, South Korea keeps producing Spam in its own factory and has been one of the most popular industries in the country. Most Korean families have Spam cans on their kitchen shelves and cook different kinds of food with them. As a Korean who lived in Korea for many years, I ate Spam with rice, fried eggs, and ketchup when there was no other food to eat. During school picnics, parents make kimbab, a Korean traditional rice roll with assorted vegetables and meat, and the children love having Spam in them.

During the Korean War (1950-1953), many U.S. army soldiers lived in Korea and their presence gave Spam its popularity in Korea. Because Spam was a convenient way to eat meat, U.S. brought many Spam products to the army base. Because Korea was in jeopardy at the time and many Koreans lived in poverty, their only way to get valuable resources and food was from the U.S. army. Among those valuable resources, Spam was very popular because meat was almost non-existent and very expensive at the time. The stew that was created with Spam is called Budae Jjigae*. Koreans who lived in poverty literally mixed everything that was available to them and because the U.S. army enjoyed Spam, their major ingredient became Spam. Because Budae Jjigae mixed everything (including rotten and spoiled food) that was available, it was also known as the “pig’s soup.” However, budae jjigae eventually transformed into a popular and healthy food that many Koreans enjoy in the present time. It mixes kimchi, tofu, vegetables, assorted hams, noodles, and most importantly, Spam.

*Budae Jjigae in English is “army-base stew.”




After doing some research on Spam in Asia, I found out that some people give Spam cans in gift sets during holidays. Many other Asian countries such as Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Philippine, also blend their own cultural food with Spam.




Spam’s popularity has widened greatly and Asians who immigrated to America continue to consume Spam greatly. I believe Spam shows Asia’s history of wars because if the U.S. army had not been in Asian countries, Spam had not been able to enjoy such popularity as is today. Spam represents Asian’s life in poverty and hope during the war.

Hawaiian Spam(?)

Someone made a really cute box out of an empty Spam can!

Insun Cheon.

Feeling Jazzy

Glenn Miller- Moonlight Serenade

Sammy Lee: Diving into History

Dr. Samuel "Sammy" Lee. A doctor. A diver. The First Asian American to win a gold medal for the United States.

Samuel Lee was born in Fresno, California in 1920 to Korean immigrants who had settled in Hawaii in 1905. Sammy Lee began diving at a very young age and trained for years to accomplish his dreams of one day competing in the World Olympics. The Olympics is a competition bringing in the best athletes from all over the world to compete in various types of sporting events. It is a fundamental element in pop culture, a tradition that has been enjoyed by people everywhere since ancient Roman times. It is this big stage that Sammy was aiming for. Since he was 12 years old, he trained for 16 years to finally be good enough to show the world his talent.

However, this did not come without struggle. Lee would train in the pool in Pasadena, California where rules were very strict. People of color, like himself, could only use the pool once a week, which had to be drained and filled with fresh water that same night. These strict rules are accurate to the kind of racism that occurred during the time. An influx of Asians were coming into America around the time of the gold rush in hopes of attaining a lucky fortune. This caused a "terror" among white people who feared that the Chinese would take all the jobs and ruin the working economy. This fear came to be known as "yellow peril". Despite the yellow peril, however, Lee continued to train as hard as he could despite the racism he faced during his training which even caused him to become ashamed of his heritage. Lee's father responded to that by saying,

"Son, if you are not proud of the shape of your eyes and the color of your skin, how can your classmates respect you?"

Those words were all Lee needed to rekindle his dream of becoming an Olympic champion.

Lee's talent was discovered by his diving coach who trained him to eventually make it to the U.S. National Diving Team in 1942. In 1947, Lee was even able to satisfy his father's wishes, receiving his medical degree at the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. A year later, he would make history.


In 1948, Lee took his diving talents to compete in the summer Olympics in London. Sammy knew that no Asian American had ever won a gold medal in the Olympics. All gold medalists before him were typically white. For Lee to come into this competition with his eyes on the gold medal was a historical feat within itself. After a spectacular 16-second, three-and-a-half somersault dive, Lee became an Olympic champion and the first Asian-American Olympic gold medalist. In 1952, Lee won a gold medal in the platform diving competition, making him the first male athlete to win 2 gold medals in that event. Soon after, Lee put his doctoral skills to use serving as a doctor in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in World War II. He went back to diving in 1960 not as the athlete, but as a coach of the U.S. Olympic Diving Team. Lee has paved the way for Asian American athletes not only in the Olympics, but in American sports as well. Coached by Lee, Samoan American, Greg Lougains won gold medals in Olympic springboard and platform diving in 1984. Other Asian American athletes would proceed to win gold medals in weightlifting, swimming, figure skating and more. Sammy Lee paved the way for athletes like Japanese American Kristi Yamaguchi and Chinese American Michelle Kwan who have won gold medals in Olympic figure skating, breaking the mold of the what was thought to be the typical Olympian gold medalist.


Lawrence Dalusung

Music

A few songs that would have played during the internment camps, was influential music for the musicians or were internment camp bands.


Glenn Miller- In the Mood


Sidney Bechet- Summertime


Bix Beiderbecke- Singin the Blues


Benny Goodman- Sing Sing Sing

Japanese American Internment Camp Movies

Come see the Paradise (1990)


Snow Falling on Cedars


Farewell to Manzanar (1976)
Executive Order 9066

Collaboration: Edwina "Edi" Dai, Jerry Knaack

True Unsung Heroes

Imagine this. You're about 20 years old living in a country where living conditions could be, well...better. There's a country. A glorious country. The land of opportunity. This land of opportunity, however, is fighting a war, and they need help. They promise that in exchange for your help, you can finally get a ticket to this glorious land...and money to establish yourself there! So once you have done what they ask of you, they suddenly tell you, "Thanks, here's the ticket, but we can't give you everything else we promised you."

That ticket is called citizenship.

In 1941, President Roosevelt drafted 160,000 soldiers from the Philippines to fight in the war that succeeded the bombings in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. The US promised full benefits and US citizenship to any Filipino soldier who volunteered to fight. Motivated by anger and incentives given by the US, over 250,000 Filipinos answered the call to fight alongside American soldiers against the Japanese in World War II. That number does not even include the number of guerrilla fighters who helped the United States as well. In 1942, Congress passed legislation that would give the soldiers US citizenship. Seems like they were holding their end of the bargain so far. However, following the end of the war in 1945, President Roosevelt signed the Rescission Act of 1946, one that would take away that promise giving full benefits to all nations fighting alongside the US, except the Filipinos. It wasn't until 1990 when President Bush signed a law that allowed them to come to the US but without veterans benefits.

After waiting more than 40 years for benefits, coming to the United States was no longer much of a reward. Many were growing old and could barely work. After moving to the US, the Filipino veterans were forced to move into transitional veteran housing, usually packed and overcrowded. Any money they received most likely went to their families left in the Philippines and the veterans would just remain there without benefits and without justice. Even today, the veterans struggle to find work so they can have a sustainable amount of income. But in this economy, the veterans are hit hard. They cannot find work so many must make do with what they have. California's state budget cuts have reduced their income benefits.


Many people, however, do not completely agree with the veterans' campaign for justice. One article on CNN.com is entitled, "U.S. to pay 'forgotten' Filipino World War II Veterans" The word "forgotten" stands out because it is in parentheses insinuating that Filipino veterans weren't really forgotten despite the injustices done to them.

Today, only 15,000 veterans remain. Although legislation, signed by President Obama, promised to finally reimburse the veterans for their services, only 10% of the money promised has been disbursed. Many still haven't received the $9,000 or $15,000 promised to them. The claims are being delayed and many of the veterans are dying, making them and their families ineligible to receive the lump sum of money.

Tule Lake: Standing Up to Injustice

Tule Lake started out just as any of the other interment camps, poor conditions, makeshift shelter, and barbed wire fences with armed watchtowers surrounding the internees. But as time went on, Tule Lake would make a name for itself. One that would set it apart from the rest of the camps and one that would ultimately make it the most controversial of all the Japanese American Internment camps during World War II.

Located near near the actual lake called Tule Lake, the Tule Lake Relocation Center was actually in the Northern California town of Newell. It opened its door on May 26^th, 1942 to the Japanese Americans who previously had lived in western Washington, Oregon and parts of Northern California. This camp began operation as just one of the several interment camps but following several incidences, Tule lake became know as the camp with a bunch of trouble makers. Following the loyalty questionnaire, “No-No” boys were all sent to Tule Lake, even those who answered as a sign of protest of their poor treatment. They were labeled as "disloyal" and assumed to be pro-Japan. Several protests and boycotts occurred leading to military police to seize control of the camp and declaring Martial Law. The camp thus became known as the Tule Lake Segregation Center.

Tule Lake was the final camp to close its doors in March of 1946. At its peak it was home to nearly 19,00 internees making it the largest of all the camps. Despite being the last to close and the biggest, Tule Lake will be remembered for those who choose to resist. The members of Tule Lake make great contrast to the traditional story that is told in classrooms and the heroic tale of the 442^nd. But some have considered the residents of the only “Segregation Center” to be the most American of all. They choose to stand up for their rights and wanted to have their voice heard. At the time this was seen as disobedience. Today it is seen as standing up for what you believe in and what is right. To commemorate what these Americans did, not only has Tule Lake been preserved as a California Historical Landmark, and later a National Historic Site, Tule Lake is the only site chosen by President Bush to represent the continental United States on the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. “By conserving these important sites, President Bush recognized...the quiet courage of Japanese Americans incarcerated at Tule Lake,” remarked Dan Sakura who works to preserve the the Japanese American Interment camps.

Despite its poor reputation at the time, history shows how much bravery it took to stand up in the face of adversity. Only now are the residents of Tule Lake having their story told in a positive light. But perhaps it is time to adjust the story in our history books, at least a little bit.

Jerry Knaack

http://www.tulelake.org/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_Lake_War_Relocation_Center

http://www.lib.utah.edu/portal/site/marriottlibrary/menuitem.350f2794f84fb3b29cf87354d1e916b9/?vgnextoid=885a31af8dade110VgnVCM1000001c9e619bRCRD&vgnextchannel=3774f882f22de110VgnVCM1000001c9e619bRCRD

http://www.colostate.edu/orgs/TuleLake/Tule%20Lake%20Menu.html

http://www.nps.gov/archive/manz/cctulelake.htm

http://www.javadc.org/tule_lake.htm

http://home.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/ww2ip/dsp_monuments.cfm

http://www.conservationfund.org/node/877

Popeye: You're a Sap, Mr. Jap

In 1943, Paramount Pictures released this cartoon short featuring the pop culture icon, Popeye the Sailor. It was released during the time of World War II to depict the attitude of the Americans towards the Japanese at the time. The cartoon also represents Japanese in an offensive manner using caricatures drawn from offensive stereotypes. In this cartoon, Popeye is sailing his ship when he spots a Japanese battleship through his telescope. He parks his boat right next to them, and before he can act out of anger, the Japanese present him with a peace treaty. Popeye, skeptical at first, finally attempts to sign it, but the Japanese repeatedly bother and provoke him while he's not looking ultimately signifying their "backstabbing nature" and inability to keep their treaty of peace. The multiple hits while Popeye is not looking, again, depict the Japanese as a sneaky people, making references to the bombing at Pearl Harbor.


This war propaganda cartoon was never aired and banned because of its racist portrayal of the Japanese. One noticeable depiction is that they all looked the same. All Japanese characters donned the same round pair of glasses, Japanese kimono, wooden sandals, and buck teeth speaking in what sounds like Japanese. Racism against the Japanese was very strong around this time. These stereotypes were based on actual racist stereotypes of the Japanese. At the time of this cartoon, Japanese Americans experienced a surge of racism. Some believe the internment of Japanese Americans into camps were racially motivated, not for military purposes as publicly stated. Lots of mediums of pop culture such as music, literature, and propaganda dehumanized the Japanese, calling them names like "dirty Japs" or different types of animals. Any Japanese American at the time was vulnerable to this racism.

Having had enough of the Japanese's antics, Popeye decides to teach them a lesson but eventually finds himself battling the entire naval battleship of the Japanese. As it appears that Popeye is about to lose, he eats a can of spinach and proceeds to beat up the entire Japanese navy. As he rests, the ship begins to fall apart. He holds a sign that reads: MADE IN JAPAN which he easily crumbles into pieces implying that Japanese products are substandard or incompetent to American products. The general of the ship consumes a tank of gasoline and kills himself while Popeye watches the ship die. The cartoon ends with the Japanese flag being submersed and Popeye celebrating a victory.

This cartoon is one of many racist forms of propaganda that circulated at the time of World War II. It portrayed the Japanese in a very offensive and stereotypical manner that was reflective of the racism that was popular during the time. The Japanese are portrayed to be backstabbers, people unable to be trusted. Lots of these racist sentiments toward the Japanese were fueled by anger from the Pearl Harbor attacks, causing many citizens to act violently. A 1942 comic strip published ways to distinguish a Japanese phenotypically.


They are also portrayed to be fanatic as shown in the climactic sequence of the cartoon when the general decides to "save face" and commit suicide rather than lose. This is evident by the desperate kamikaze tactics the Japanese used during the war in which fighter pilots would crash into naval ships sacrificing their lives to kill American soldiers. The cartoon ends with the Japanese ship sinking and Popeye, the representation of America, watching their foreshadowed defeat.


Lawrence Dalusung

Wally Kaname Yonamine

Wally Kaname Yonamine is a multi-sport professional. Yonamine became the first Asian to play professional football in the United States (he played in the National Football League) and became the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. However, though he accomplished these great feats, Yonamine faced a lot of adversity, scorn, and obstacles. Because of World War II and the animosity between Americans and the Japanese that came as a result of the war, Yonamine, as a Japanese American, had to adapt to unfamiliar cultures and overcome prejudice against his ancestry in both the Japanese and American
environments/societies.


Yonamine was born on June 24, 1925 in Maui, Hawaii on a poor sugar plantation to Japanese immigrants. After moving to Oahu and leading his high school (Farrington High School) to its first Honolulu city football championship, Yonamine got his first public acclamation as an athlete in 1944. Eventually he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 1947 as a running back and became the first ethnic Japanese to play football professionally. However, after being in the NFL for a few years, an injury forced him to end his football career. Thus, unable to play football, Wally Yonamine turned to baseball instead and later became the man that changed Japanese baseball forever.

While playing baseball for the San Francisco Seal’s, the manager urged him to consider playing professional baseball in Japan. In 1951, the Yomiuri Giants signed Yonamine as an outfielder, and he became the first American to play baseball in postwar Japan. He became known as the “Jackie Robinson” of Japanese baseball (Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the states and broke the barrier of having whites only playing baseball). Applying his football skills/mentality to baseball, Yonamine quickly became one of the most dominant players in the league. He would play hard and with immense intensity by stealing bases, running aggressively, doing hard slides, and by knocking down opponents. His tactics changed the way the Japanese would play baseball forever. Before Yonamine came to Japan, the Japanese had a more reserve mentality when it came to playing baseball. So when Yonamine arrived, the Japanese fans didn’t appreciate his hard-hitting tactics. They thought he was too abrasive and aggressive. The fans would hurl rocks and insults at him. However, Yonamine’s dominance proved far too great for the fans’ hatred of him to continue.
In his years as a player, Yonamine is considered to be the greatest leadoff hitter in Japanese baseball history. In his first year alone he had a batting average of .354 (anything above .300 is considered really good). In his career he won three batting championships and in 1957 he was named MVP (most valuable player). After retiring as a player, despite troubles of adapting to Japanese culture, Yonamine stayed in Japan for many years serving as a coach and manager. As a coach, he was responsible for changing how Japanese baseball was played. He taught his players the “American way” (American practices of baseball) such as hard sliding, running out bunts and grounders (hustling), and diving for balls. He taught his players how to be aggressive and assertive.

In 1994, Wally Yonamine was elected to the Japanese Hall of Fame. Even through his old age, Yonamine continued to be a role model. He made contributions to Japanese and American foreign relations. He will forever be a key figure in Asian American history. As both an American and Japanese man, Yonamine was able to make an impact in both countries/societies. In America, Yonamine was able to show his skills in football despite being Asian, and in Japan, he was able to his greatness in baseball through his American knowledge.




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http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/profiles/26/

http://eastwindupchronicle.com/baseball-japan/wally-yonamine/

http://wallyyonamine.com/

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Denise Lee

Forgotten Heroes: The 442nd RCT and 100th Battalion

In recent years the 442^nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100^th Battalion have finally received some of recognition they deserve as heroes of World War II. The 442^nd was an a unit comprised completely of Asian Americans, mostly Japanese Americans from Hawaii. The unit is the most highly decorated regiment in history.

On February 1, 1943, following the successful training of the 100^th Battalion, permission was granted to form what became the 442^nd. In May of that year, training of the approximately 4000 troops took place at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. At first there was a lot of tension between the mainland (or kotonks for the “noise made by the coal which these "yardbirds" had had to shovel as members of housekeeping detachments at Army posts; others said it was the sound made by their heads when Island boys knocked them together”) and Hawaiian Japanese Americans (or buddhaheads that comes from “The Japanese word "buta" means pig, and "buddhahead" may be a corruption of "buta head," but it was generally thought that the term had been imported from Hawaii where it was applied to Japanese Buddhist priests who shaved their heads, and, by extension, to the Japanese residents generally”) because of various difference such as speaking barriers where Hawaiian Japanese tended to speak pidgin English while mainland Japanese would speak more traditional English. This fighting halted however after the Hawaiian boys visited one of the internment camps. Busses took the troops to visit both the Rohwer and Jerome camps. Suddenly the Hawaiian boys had a better understanding of what the mainlanders had been through and thus created a more united team. Katsugo Miho of the 522nd Field Artillery, 442^nd RCT said of the trip “the reception we got from the people in camp was simply astounding. Putting up a cheerful front to us. I don’t remember any of them crying to us or giving us a sad story. All of them were going out of their way to encourage us. When you reflect on it, it should have been the other way around. We should have been encouraging them.”

Following their training, the 442^nd was was shipped off to Europe where they participated in several missions. They helped to rescue the “lost Battalion” in France, suffering over 800 casualties (including 121 fatalities) to save a mere 211 of their white counterparts. They also were the first to reach the Dachau concentration camp and help to release those who were imprisoned within the fences. The following year the 442^nd returned home and was recognized by President Truman where he said “You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice-and you have won.”

Truman's words may have been powerful, but they were only partially true. The fact was that following their return home, despite all of their heroic efforts, they were still discriminated against as members of the 442^nd were given honors far less then what they had deserved, if given at all. Only one medal of Honor was initially awarded to the members of the 442^nd. It took until the year 2000 when 20 additional Japanese Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor, many of whom posthumously. Also in 1999, the Go For Broke National Education Center honored the Japanese Americans who served during World War II with a monument in Little Tokyo, Los Angels. “Go For Broke” refers to the 442^nd's motto that comes from a pidgin phase that basically means to risk it all typically while gambling.

Also recently, Hollywood has tried to bring the story of the 442^nd to a larger American audience. Plays, documentaries, television and several movies have been made to tell the stories of these brave men. A recent adaptation is titled Only the Brave (2005) and follows the stories of several different men from prior to the war, through their time of service, to ultimately their return home (for some).

The 442^nd did many things that relate to the greater Asian American community. Perhaps most importantly, they stood up and fought for a country that had not been the most welcoming to them. They fought and tried to prove that Japanese and Asian Americans were in fact American and that deserved to be treated as such. Its is great to finally see that they are starting to be remembered for all that they have done.

Jerry Knaack

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_%28United_States%29

http://www.goforbroke.org/history/history_historical.asp

http://nisei.hawaii.edu/page/442

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:RP3d3yhYgYQJ:www.ajawarvets.org/campaigns/campaign_01_introduction.cfm+kotonks&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

NBA Legend: Wat Misaka

5'7”, 150 pounds, Japanese American. Wataru (Wat) Misaka doesn't sound like a man destined to change the face of professional basketball. In a sport dominated by height and non-Asians, it's hard to believe that such a man could have any success. And in fact, playing a mere three games and scoring seven points would indicate that he did not have any success. But his career isn't remembered for how many points he scored, it is remembered because he did play.

Wat Misaka was born in Ogden, Utah in 1923 Wat grew up playing basketball and eventually got the chance to play for the University of Utah. In 1944 he helped his team to capture the NCAA Championship. He then left school for two years to serve in the military. Upon his return he was able to rejoin the team, this time helping the team to the 1947 NIT championship. His play in front of the New York crowd at Madison Square Garden led to New York basketball fans wanting more. So much so that he was selected by the New York Knicks with their first pick in that year's draft. Later that year he got to play in three games, his only three games before being cut from the team. But in those three games, he did something no other person had been able to do. He broke the color barrier in the NBA (at the time it was the Basketball Association of America or BAA).

This accomplishment in itself would be enough to make Wat a legend, but that was not the entire story. Because he lived in Utah, he was able to avoid interment during World War II. But his success was not unnoticed by those in the camps. His success on the nation's biggest stage for basketball served as an inspiration for the Japanese Americans, especially for those at at near by Topaz. Though he did not have the same effect as his baseball counterpart Jackie Robinson who broke the MLB color barrier earlier in the year, Wat is still a significant part of both Asian American and NBA history. This past year a documentary was released outlining his story entitled “Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story” and has been making its rounds in the Japanese American and Asian American communities. It has also helped to gather support that lead to Wat's induction in to the NBA Legends of Basketball Association at the 2009 All-Star game. And so Wat Misaka may not be be a household name, but he opened the door for people of color into the NBA and inspired a community on his way to becoming a true legend of the game of basketball.

Jerry Knaack

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/sports/basketball/11vecsey.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wataru_Misaka

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/7280/Transcending_The_Wat_Misaka_Story_public_screening_to_be_held_Friday

http://www.watmisaka.com/synopsis.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4nVa_NmcPc

Executive Order 9066 & Jazz

Shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and during the Second World War, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the United States Presidential Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. It ordered all Japanese Americans to internment camps because many were assumed spies. By 1943, tens of thousands (approximately 120,000) Japanese Americans were held in internment camps and most of them were American-born citizens. They were forced to leave everything behind, including their homes, work, and belongings, and move to an excluded place. American’s anti-Japanese bias and extreme hysteria over rumors of Japanese attacks and espionage led to this hasty decision by the U.S. government. Although it violated the constitutional rights, U.S. put American-born Japanese Americans into internment camps without any question.


In the internment camps, Japanese Americans lived in harsh conditions including the “persistent stench of horse smells, the windowless stalls, and barbed wire fences.” Japanese Americans were simply punished for being “Japanese” and the psychological impact of being in captive because of their racial origin was appalling to all Japanese.

Living in over-crowded conditions, some Japanese Americans learned to make their own music, using whatever they had. In spite of chaos and psychological illness, Japanese American bands in internment camps continued playing and creating music because it distracted them from all the troubles and brought out pleasure. Using saxophones, trumpets, and other available instruments, they played jazz for dance nights, proms, graduations, and special ceremonies. Many were self-taught musicians and DJs who learned how to play music just to escape from despair and to unite fellow Japanese Americans. Music was something that gave them hope to survive and continue on. It was a way to express their identity as Americans. In order to prove how American they were, they sent their sons to fight for U.S. in wars and pledged allegiance to America.


Because Asian Americans were stereotyped as passive, reserved, quiet, and model minority, they were seen unfit with jazz, which is active, loud, creative, and emotional. However, they created the “Asian American Jazz” using Asian American contents in the lyrics, having political messages, and having Asian characteristics and sounds.

Executive Order 9066 was rescinded on February 19, 1976 by President Gerald Ford. Later, it was concluded that the imprisonment of Japanese Americans was based on “racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The U.S. government paid $20,000 to each of the survivors and gave a public education fund to help ensure that this would never happen again. Japanese American Jazz continued to be popular and more people joined in to create songs, poetry, words, and music that told the story of Japanese American internment.

Insun Cheon.