Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River (Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.90 (921 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0295997060 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 360 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-05-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence Len O Excellent read.I am an Oregon resident, and my parents were both WW II vets, so I heard a lot about the internment of the Issei/Nisei generation's imprisonment (What else can one call it?) during the war. (My father's best childhood friend, and a dear friend in his adult life, was one of those individuals, though from Portland.) Reading the story of the Nisei vets from Hood River brought to life the indignities suffered by all.Tamura is an academic, but writes in the relaxed, conversational style suitable to a storyteller. Having limited time for reading, and some. Excellent Research on part of the earlier history of Hood River . Margaret C. Jacob As a resident growing up and having as classmates several Japanese Americans including Joan Yasui Emerson, I can concur with the previous reviewers that this is a very thorough, well researched and detailed history of what happened back about the time some of us were just entering this world!!!! I counted Joan Yasui Emerson, who helped greatly with recognition events after helping do interviews for this book, as one of my friends, inviting her to my home in high school and later enjoying being invited to her home for a swimming party in their beautiful Odell,Orego. Being from Hood River, I am ashamed of the Being from Hood River, I am ashamed of the way these courageous soldiers were treated. I was not born until the early 50's but, I would hope that I had enough courage to stand up for these war hero's when they came back to their home town. I knew a lot of these men later in life and each and every one of them deserve our utmost respect. Not only for their actions during the war but for the courage it took to face former friends that now looked down on them.
Linda Tamura is professor of education at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She is the author of The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon's Hood River Valley.
Town leaders, including veterans' groups, attempted to prevent their return after the war and stripped their names from the local war memorial. She had access to hundreds of recently uncovered letters and documents from private files of a local veterans' group that led the campaign against the Japanese American soldiers. Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence is a compelling story of courage, community, endurance, and reparation. All of the soldiers were American citizens, but their parents were Japanese immigrants and had been imprisoned in camps as a consequence of Executive Order 9066. The racist homecoming that the Hood River Japanese American soldiers received was decried across the nation.Linda Tamura, who grew up in Hood River and whose father was a veteran of the war, conducted extensive oral histories with the veterans, their families, and members of the community. It shares the experiences of Japanese Americans (Nisei) who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, fighting on the front lines in Italy and France, serving as linguists in the South Pacific, and working as cooks and medics. This book also includes the little known story of local Nisei veterans who spent 40 years appealing their convictions for insubordination.Watch the book trailer: http: //youtube/watch?v=hHMcFdmixLk. The soldiers were f
Tamura uses interviews and newly uncovered documents to tell a shocking story." -Jeff Baker, "The Oregonian"." an excellent history of the Hood River Nisei who served during WW II. Robbins"Oregon Historical Quarterly" (01/01/2013)Tamura's Nisei Soldiers is an interesting, solidly researched, and well-written piece of history, one that fills a gap in the literature on the American war experience.--Thomas Saylor"Oral History Review" (01/01/2013)An important book about a shameful era in the history of the Columbia gorge. Robbins"Oregon Historical Quarterly" (01/01/2013)Tamura's Nisei Soldiers is an interesting, solidly researched, and well-written piece of history, one that fills a gap in the literature on the American war experience.--Thomas Saylor"Oral History Review" (01/01/2013)