When the US entered World War 2 there were about 112,000 people of Japanese decent living in Hawaii and the West Coast. Many of them entered the United States before the Immigration Act of 1924 which limited the number of immigrants from various nations with a quota system and excluded many immigrants from Asian and African nations. Yet the Japanese community flourished even with the discrimination and prejudice that was prevalent in the nation at the time.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor the US had a problem. Although we are a free nation, we felt that each member of this community was a Japanese spy. That the loyalty of the whole community was in question. Since Dec. 7th, gangs of thugs were roaming through the Japanese communities looting, raping, and killing those they saw as an enemy. And we had a solution for this problem. We would place the whole Japanese-American community into interment camps for their own protection.
While the Supreme Court in Hirabayashi v. U.S. YASUI U.S. wrote:
“because persons of Japanese ancestry have been faced with many restrictions while residing in the United States, they may have become more isolated from the rest of the population and more attached to Japan and Japanese institutions.Thus paving the way for all those of Japanese decent to be interred. Many went willingly, following the orders of their government into these camps. Camps that were underfunded, under equipped, and under staffed. Many would die from these conditions. But the spirit of America did not die with these people. Instead it flourished.“The Executive Order permitted establishment of military areas for the purpose of protecting national defense resources from sabotage and espionage. The Act of Congress ratified the Executive Order. Both were an exercise of constitutional power to wage war. Once the Executive and Congress have the power, they also have the freedom to use their own judgment in determining what the threat is and how it can be resisted. A court should not decide whether the Executive and/or Congress did the right thing nor should a court substitute its own judgment for that of the Executive or Congress.
“Measures adopted by the Government may point out that a group of one nationality is more dangerous to the country’s safety than any other group. This is not entirely beyond the limits of the Constitution and should not be condemned just because racial differences are usually irrelevant."
Funny how a people forced into horrible conditions by their own government could still hold great love for that nation that imprisoned them. They formed their own government (governing themselves with approval from the military commanders), they organized schools, medical clinics, scouting troops, civic organizations. They held drives for blood, for metal, for rubber, bought War Bonds and grew Victory Gardens.
And some served.
Starting in Hawaii and then propelling to the mainland, young men of Japanese decent (known as Nisei) enlisted in the US Army. Those who had a very clear understanding of Japan and the Japanese language were sent to Washington D.C. to work in Military Intelligence. The rest form the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team. And what a history they have!
The 442, known affectionately as Buddhaheads,was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The unit became the most highly decorated military unit in the history of the United States Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients, earning the nickname “The Purple Heart Battalion.” Their motto: Go For Broke! showed the courage and determination of these men.While other interred groups rallied against the US, with none of them enlisting in such numbers. The Nisei volunteered in great numbers. And died in great numbers too.
This Regiment has the distinction of being the most highly decorated unit ever in American history. It would be hard for any unit to match their distinctive record of:
- 8 Major Campaigns in Europe
- 7 Presidential Unit Citations
- 9,486 Purple Hearts
- 21 Congressional Medals of Honor
- 52 Distinguished Service Crosses
- 1 Distinguished Service Medal
- 560 Silver Stars, 28 with Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of second
- 22 Legion of Merit Medals
- 4,000 Bronze Stars, 1,200 with Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of second
- 15 Soldier's Medals
- 12 French Croix de Guerre with two Palms representing second awards
- 2 Italian Crosses for Military Merit
- 2 Italian Medals for Military Valor
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The 442nd in training: building then attacking across a pontoon bridge at Camp Shelby
A 442nd RCT squad leader checks for German units in France in November 1944.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, hiking up a muddy French road in the Chambois Sector, France, in late 1944.It was through the actions of these men that the Japanese-American community was released from interment in December of 1944.
What drove these men? It was an undying love for this nation. A love that interment, prejudice and hatred could not destroy. A love for the knowledge that in the United States, all are equal. Just sometimes it takes longer for the government to recognize that fact.
Go For Broke Memorial in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CaliforniaOn this Pearl Harbor Day I remember the men who died in Hawaii, but I will also remember the patriots who served even when their own nation despised, hated and feared them enough to put them in camps. The men of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442 Regimental Combat Team. Americans regardless of what their nation thought of them at the time!
5 comments:
I am curious, how many Arab-Americans serve in the military? I know a lot and must be a great asset with the language and intel, but it would be interesting to compare service records with these.
sometimes decisions about national security trumps all my friend..great post!!
Great post,
The relocation of the Japanese-Americans may have seemed prudent at the time, but it was a mistake. There were no spies, and the exploits of the 442nd should never be forgotten. I am going to post something myself on this.
Here is my post on this subject. Thanks to Findalis for raising it.
One of my blogging colleagues, Findalis, of "Monkey in the Middle" (linked), in her Pearl Harbor remembrance, also pointed out another aspect to our war against Japan that should not be forgotten. That is the re-location of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast and the exploits of the 442nd-an Army unit that fought in Europe that was made up entirely of Japanese-Americans.
After Pearl Harbor, there was a fear that the large presence of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast might represent a 5th column. Anti-Japanese fever was at a high pitch in those days. In February 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast being shipped to inland relocation centers, principally in the wide open western states. It did not matter whether they were first-generation immigrants or born in the US and possessed American citizenship. Though the treatment was as humane as possible, the conditions in these camps in places like Manzanar, California (in the desert), Topaz, Utah, Gila, Arizona, and Heart Mountain, Wyoming, were harsh.
What also happened is that thousands of Japanese-Americans lost their property and businesses. Most never recovered their possessions after the war, yet they remained what they had been all along-loyal Americans. (About a decade ago, surviving relocatees were granted reparations in the amount of $20,000.)
And who was one of the leading proponents and agitators for the relocation? None other than the then-Attorney General of California and later Governor, Earl Warren, the icon of the left after he ascended to the Supreme Court. Years after he left the Court, Warren never apologized for his actions that helped lead to the relocations. On at least one occasion, Warren was due to speak at a California University, and Asian-American students announced that they would respectfully ask him to explain his position in those years. Warren cancelled one such appearance, and on another occasion, told the students that they should direct their questions to the Federal Government, which carried out the policy.
The other part of this chapter in our history is the actions of the 442nd Infantry Combat Team, which fought for America in Europe and was the most-highly decorated unit (per capita size) in World War 2. They had volunteered to serve the country which was imprisoning them and their families and fought with incredible bravery and distinction. They called themselves, "Buddha Heads", a term that I grew up with in Los Angeles after the war.
Being from West Los Angeles, I grew up with and went to school with lots of Japanese-Americans. This was only 10-20 years after the end of the war. The Japanese-American kids were totally assimilated and mixed freely with white friends. Interracial dating was common-and would become more common as the years passed by. In fact, it was considered sort of "fashionable", if that is the right word, for a white girl to have a Japanese-American boyfriend. As I said above, we referred to the Japanese-American kids as "Buddha Heads." It was not a pejorative; it was a term they used to refer to themselves. My point in all this is to illustrate how quickly Japanese-Americans (at least on the surface) overcame the feelings from the war. The experiences of their families was a subject we never discussed with each other in our high school years. (If you are wondering, almost all Asian-Americans in West LA at that time were of Japanese descent. Those of Filipino, Chinese, Korean descent, etc. were not too common in West LA at that time.)
None of the above is to diminish the importance of Pearl Harbor as a symbol. To visit the site of the USS Arizona is an unforgettable experience. We must never forget Pearl Harbor, but it should never color our perceptions of any other American. Of course, we have reconciliated with the nation of Japan and anti-Japanese feelings that were so strong after Pearl Harbor have faded and died out. We should, however, also never forget that American citizens of Japanese ancestry were treated unfairly.
Finally, there were, to my knowledge, no documented cases of treason or sedition by any Japanese-American. (The Tokyo Rose case involved a young Japanese-American woman who found herself in Japan at the outbreak of the war.)
gary fouse
fousesquawk
Well said Gary. I'm going to save your words for a time when we will need them. For I fear that time is going to come soon.
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