Download or read book Silent Warriors written by Jack K. Wakamatsu and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Silent warriors: a memoir of America's 442nd Regimental Combat Team is author Jack K. Wakamatsu's deeply felt account of his experiences in World War II. A Nisei, or Japanese-American, Wakamatsu finds himself in a particularly unique position as the war begins. As our government interns his parents in the infamous Manzanar "security camp", his father's business left in unscrupulous hands, Jack and many of his Nisei friends prepare to wage war in the European theater, their twofold aim: to fight for liberty, and to prove to their Caucasian counterparts that they, too, are loyal, patriotic Americans. Made up mostly of Nisei like Wakamatsu, the 442nd's exploits and adventures make for unforgettable reading. In a particularly unsettling episode, a young soldier returns from a harrowing day on the front line, only to learn that angry neighbors have turned against his parents back home and burned them out of their house. The incident is rendered doubly poignant in light of the tremendous dedication and discipline of the 442nd soldiers, many of whom would go on to make the ultimate sacrifice before the war ends. In an era where, as the author points out, we take our priceless freedom entirely too much for granted, Silent warriors is a chilling reminder of the high price that has so often been paid for the sake of preserving American democracy"--Jacket.
Download or read book Boyhood to War written by Dorothy Matsuo and published by Mutual Publishing. This book was released on 1992 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Honor Before Glory written by Scott McGaugh and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On October 24, 1944, more than two hundred American soldiers realized they were surrounded by German infantry deep in the mountain forest of eastern France. As their dwindling food, ammunition, and medical supplies ran out, the American commanding officer turned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to achieve what other units had failed to do. Honor Before Glory is the story of the 442nd, a segregated unit of Japanese American citizens, commanded by white officers, that finally rescued the "lost battalion." Their unmatched courage and sacrifice under fire became legend-all the more remarkable because many of the soldiers had volunteered from prison-like "internment" camps where sentries watched their mothers and fathers from the barbed-wire perimeter. In seven campaigns, these young Japanese American men earned more than 9,000 Purple Hearts, 6,000 Bronze and Silver Stars, and nearly two dozen Medals of Honor. The 442nd became the most decorated unit of its size in World War II: its soldiers earned 18,100 awards and decorations, more than one for every man. Honor Before Glory is their story-a story of a young generation's fight against both the enemy and American prejudice-a story of heroism, sacrifice, and the best America has to offer.
Download or read book Facing the Mountain written by Daniel James Brown and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of NPR's "Books We Love" of 2021 Longlisted for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography Winner of the Christopher Award “Masterly. An epic story of four Japanese-American families and their sons who volunteered for military service and displayed uncommon heroism… Propulsive and gripping, in part because of Mr. Brown’s ability to make us care deeply about the fates of these individual soldiers...a page-turner.” – Wall Street Journal From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat, a gripping World War II saga of patriotism and resistance, focusing on four Japanese American men and their families, and the contributions and sacrifices that they made for the sake of the nation. In the days and months after Pearl Harbor, the lives of Japanese Americans across the continent and Hawaii were changed forever. In this unforgettable chronicle of war-time America and the battlefields of Europe, Daniel James Brown portrays the journey of Rudy Tokiwa, Fred Shiosaki, and Kats Miho, who volunteered for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and were deployed to France, Germany, and Italy, where they were asked to do the near impossible. Brown also tells the story of these soldiers' parents, immigrants who were forced to submit to life in concentration camps on U.S. soil. Woven throughout is the chronicle of Gordon Hirabayashi, one of a cadre of patriotic resisters who stood up against their government in defense of their own rights. Whether fighting on battlefields or in courtrooms, these were Americans under unprecedented strain, doing what Americans do best—striving, resisting, pushing back, rising up, standing on principle, laying down their lives, and enduring.
Download or read book And Then There Were Eight written by Laura Purdie Salas and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2008 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A digital solution for your classroom with features created with teachers and students in mind: * Perpetual license * 24 hour, 7 days a week access * No limit to the number of students accessing one title at a time * Provides a School to Home connection wherever internet is available * Easy to use * Ability to turn audio on and off * Words highlighted to match audio A collection of original, outer space-themed poetry for children accompanied by striking photos. The book demonstrates a variety of common poetic forms and defines poetic devices.
Download or read book Letters from the 442nd written by Minoru Masuda and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first collection of letters by a member of the legendary 442nd Combat Team, which served in Italy and France during World War II. Written to his wife by a medic serving with the segregated Japanese American unit, the letters describe a soldier's daily life. Minoru Masuda was born and raised in Seattle. In 1939 he earned a master's degree in pharmacology and married Hana Koriyama. Two years later the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, and Min and Hana were imprisoned along with thousands of other Japanese Americans. When the Army recruited in the relocation camp, Masuda chose to serve in the 442nd. In April 1944 the unit was shipped overseas. They fought in Italy and in France, where they liberated Bruyeres and rescued a "lost battalion" that had been cut off by the Germans. After the German surrender on May 3, 1945, Masuda was among the last of the original volunteers to leave Europe; he arrived home on New Year's Eve 1945. Masuda's vivid and lively letters portray his surroundings, his daily activities, and the people he encountered. He describes Italian farmhouses, olive groves, and avenues of cypress trees; he writes of learning to play the ukulele with his "big, clumsy" fingers, and the nightly singing and bull sessions which continued throughout the war; he relates the plight of the Italians who scavenged the 442nd's garbage for food, and the mischief of French children who pelted the medics with snowballs. Excerpts from the 442nd daily medical log provide context for the letters, and Hana interposes brief recollections of her experiences. The letters are accompanied by snapshots, a drawing made in the field, and three maps drawn by Masuda.
Download or read book Go for Broke written by Chester Tanaka and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in a limited, numbered edition in 1982, by Go For Broke, Inc. of Richmond, California. The author and editorial board selected 240 photos after combing through about 4,000. The text combines the author's recollections, reading, and research, with an oral history gathered from officers and soldiers. The 100th/442d, the most highly decorated unit in American history, was composed of Japanese Americans who had been interred during the war, and then were allowed to volunteer to fight. 11.5x9"Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Going for Broke written by James M. McCaffrey and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Americans reacted with revulsion and horror. In the patriotic war fever that followed, thousands of volunteers—including Japanese Americans—rushed to military recruitment centers. Except for those in the Hawaii National Guard, who made up the 100th Infantry Battalion, the U.S. Army initially turned Japanese American prospects away. Then, as a result of anti-Japanese fearmongering on the West Coast, more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent were sent to confinement in inland “relocation centers.” Most were natural-born citizens, their only “crime” their ethnicity. After the army eventually decided it would admit the second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) volunteers, it complemented the 100th Infantry Battalion by creating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This mostly Japanese American unit consisted of soldiers drafted before Pearl Harbor, volunteers from Hawaii, and even recruits from the relocation centers. In Going for Broke, historian James M. McCaffrey traces these men’s experiences in World War II, from training to some of the deadliest combat in Europe. Weaving together the voices of numerous soldiers, McCaffrey tells of the men’s frustrations and achievements on the U.S. mainland and abroad. Training in Mississippi, the recruits from Hawaii and the mainland have their first encounter with southern-style black-white segregation. Once in action, they helped push the Germans out of Italy and France. The 442nd would go on to become one of the most highly decorated units in the U.S. Army. McCaffrey’s account makes clear that like other American soldiers in World War II, the Nisei relied on their personal determination, social values, and training to “go for broke”—to bet everything, even their lives. Ultimately, their bravery and patriotism in the face of prejudice advanced racial harmony and opportunities for Japanese Americans after the war.
Download or read book Four Four Two written by Dean Hughes and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forced into an internment camp at the start of World War II, eighteen-year-old Yuki enlists in the Army to fight for the Allies as a member of the "Four-Four-Two," a segregated Japanese American regiment.
Download or read book We Are Not Free written by Traci Chee and published by HMH Books For Young Readers. This book was released on 2020 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A beautiful, painful, and necessary work of historical fiction." --Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor winning author of The Night Diary
Download or read book Nisei linguists Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II Paperbound written by James C. McNaughton and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2006 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book tells the story of an unusual group of American soldiers in World War II, second-generation Japanese Americans (Nisei) who served as interpreters and translators in the Military Intelligence Service."--Preface.
Download or read book Blue Skies and Thunder written by Stephanie A. Gerdes and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009-12-21 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1942, Virgil Westdale was a successful young flight instructor when the government ousted him from the Air Corps and demoted him to army private. Having grown up as a Japanese American midwestern farm boy, Westdale had his first taste of Japanese culture when he was sent to train with the all Japanese American unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was ultimately transferred to the 522nd Artillery Battalion, where, as a member of the Fire Direction Center, he helped push the Germans out of Italy, rescue the Lost Battalion in France, and free prisoners from Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. After the war, Westdale went on to pursue a career in research and development with large corporations. He received twenty-five U.S. patents and earned an international award for his work with photocopier components. In retirement, he has been working for the TSA, returning to the worlds of aviation and national security. Written for the lay reader as well as the history buff, Westdales stories of World War II challenge preconceived notions of what we think we know about a soldiers life in Europe and offer images that go beyond the history books. ---"Spanning over ninety years, Virgils amazing and complex life story vividly reflects Americas history from the early 1900s to our current fight against terrorism. His book reads if he were sitting before me casually sharing his life. A highlight of my careerboth as an Army officer and a Federal Civil Servanthas been the honor of working with and getting to know Virgil Westdale, a great American. This is a truly fascinating and memorable autobiography." John H. Mumma, Colonel, US Army Retired Federal Security Director, Transportation Security Administration ---"Virgil Westdales Blue Skies and Thunder tells a story that is both unique in American history and uniquely American. After growing up as a Midwestern farm boy whose Japanese father had largely assimilated into the local community, he found himself after Pearl Harbor viewed with suspicion by the very government he wanted to serve in the Second World War. Denied a chance to serve as a military pilot, or even as a pilot trainer, he eventually found his way into a newly created Japanese American artillery unit and served with distinction in Italy, France and Germany. Back in the United States, he completed college and made a career for himself as an engineer with multiple patents to his credit, and eventually served his country a second time, as an airport security officer. His account is highly readable and offers insights into a wide range of aspects of both his own life and the world around him." Dr. James Smither, Director Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project
Download or read book Unlikely Liberators written by Masayo Umezawa Duus and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2006-11-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlikely Liberators is the action-filled story of the men of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Not trusted to fight in the Pacific, these sons of Japanese immigrants were sent instead to the European theater. In the eyes of their own government and the Europeans they liberated, they were an unlikely group of fighting men. They nevertheless engaged the enemy with astonishing heroism, winning battle after battle at Anzio, Salerno, Cassino, and in the Vosges Mountains. At the end of the war, the 100th and the 442nd emerged as America’s most decorated units. They provided ample evidence of their patriotism to a country that had questioned their loyalty. Masayo Duus begins her story with the formation of the Japanese American units, which were an outgrowth of America’s ambivalent attitude toward the entire Japanese American community at the outbreak of the war. She recounts their experiences in training and during the early battles in Italy, including the conflicts between Japanese American and Caucasian troops. The final part of the story focuses on the battle in the Vosges forest, where the 442nd fought fiercely to rescue the "lost battalion" of Texans hopelessly cut off by the enemy. Based on extensive research in War Department archives and nearly three hundred interviews with veterans of the 100th and 442nd, Unlikely Liberators first appeared in serialized form in Japan, where it won the Bungeishunjusha Reader’s Prize. It is an absorbing and personalized account of young men suddenly separated from their families and friends, often confused and sometimes suspicious about what the army wanted from them. It portrays them as individuals confronting the multiple crises of war and social rejection and it shows that their greatest achievement was not their victory over a foreign enemy, but over prejudice at home. This book is a tribute to those men, who by their heroism reestablished for all Japanese Americans their personal dignity as full citizens in the country of their birth.
Download or read book 442 written by Koji Steven Sakai and published by . This book was released on 2018-09 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up entirely of Japanese Americans, was the most decorated unit of World War II. Even with their families confined behind barb wire in government internment camps, these soldiers fought bravely to rescue a Texan battalion lost deep behind enemy lines. This story, based on the actual events, follows members of the 442nd as they face internment, prejudice, and horrific casualties in their battle to rescue The Lost Battalion.
Download or read book Just Americans written by Robert Asahina and published by Gotham. This book was released on 2007-05 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on the crucial period of October and November 1944, this is the story of the 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team--a segregated unit of Japanese Americans--which became the most decorated unit in American military history for its size and length of service.
Download or read book Fighting for America Nisei Soldiers written by Lawrence Matsuda and published by Chin Music. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last installment in a trilogy of graphic novels that began with We Hereby Refuse (Washington State Book Award Finalist) and Those Who Helped Us, this book details the stories of six courageous Japanese American soldiers from the Pacific Northwest. Written by Lawrence Matsuda and illustrated by Matt Sasaki, Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers shows how these brave individuals made a significant mark on American history. Shiro Kashino, a legendary local hero with the famed all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was wounded six times in combat, yet still served with the 442nd until the end of the war. Frank Nishimura fought in all the 442nd's major campaigns and suffered lifelong hearing loss due to an exploding German grenade. Jimmie Kanaya, a 442nd medic captured by the Germans, became a prisoner of war until being liberated by American forces. He went on to become a U.S. Army officer. Roy Matsumoto, a member of the Military Intelligence Service as a battlefield interpreter in the Pacific, fought with the famed Merrill's Marauders in Burma and was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Tosh Yasutake, a combat medic who served with the 442nd for the duration of the war, was wounded by shrapnel from a German artillery shell blast. Teruyuki "Turk" Susuki, a veteran of the 442nd's signature "Lost Battalion" campaign in France, became a casualty due to severe trench foot. Together with the previous graphic novels in this series, Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers tells critically important stories of Japanese American experiences during World War II.
Download or read book I Can Never Forget written by Thelma Chang and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: