Just finished reading "Facing the Mountain" by Daniel James Brown....a true story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II.
ISBN 9780525557401
The book relates in detail the experiences of Japanese Americans during the times prior to, during, and shortly after Pearl Harbor and recounts in detail how poorly Japanese Americans were treated by the US Government and the American People....and also relates the combat experiences of the 100th and 442 Infantry Regiments, the 522nd Artillery Battalion, and Nisei assigned to Military Intelligence along with their campaigns in the European Area of Operations where they earned a reputation for being excellent Soldiers with a very. aggressive nature in combat.
There are lessons to be learned from this book that directly apply to some unusual contemporary thinking by some.
In the l words of the Rudy Tokiwa quoted by the Author....."You know it is coming out to be, it doesn't make no difference what you look like, it's what you're doing and what you've done for the Country that counts."
Rudy was a member of the 442nd (Go For Broke) Infantry Regiment who was severely wounded by artillery shrapnel during a combat action that saw the 442nd breach the Gothic Line in Italy....while his family was still in a "Concentration Camp" back home.
To demonstrate the gallantry of the Nisei Soldiers.....They made up 0.11 percent of Eighteen Million Americans who served in the US Military during WWII, of which 473 received Medals of Honor.....the members of the 442nd who served (18,000) they were awarded 4.4% of the MoH's awarded to all branches....21 in all.
4,000 of them were wounded or killed.
They certainly earned the Right of being called Americans.....and not "Japanese-Americans" and certainly proved their gallantry and loyalty despite the terrible treatment they and they families received.