Manzanar

Monday, September 20, 2010

442nd Nisei Regiment

In January 1943, President Roosevelt and the War Department determined to permit Japanese Americans to volunteer in an all American-Japanese contingent to fight for their country in World War II. Japanese Americans stepped forward without hesitation to serve their country.
The Japanese men risked their lives to fight for America because in return, their families could go back home. They won due to their outsanding performance in the war, they acheived many awards.

Young Japanese Nissei men were fervent to fight against Japan and show their loyalty to America. Due to the courageousness and determination in the battle, they were known as “Go for broke!” "Go For Broke" meant to risk everything or give everything .The 442^nd regiment soldiers were mostly Caucasians. After the World War 2 ended, the 442^nd soldiers were not treated fairly by the American society when they returned home. The Japanese veterans of World War 2 were welcomed back to their homes by signs that read “No Japs allowed” and “No Japs wanted”.

Pictures:

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aLqsKTWgJk&feature=related

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675052439_Japanese-American-442nd-Infantry_Lost-Battalion_wounded_German-prisoners

Links:

http://www.nikkeiheritage.org/research/442.html

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/100-442in.htmhttp://www.marauder.org/nisei02.htm

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Manzanar Internment Camp

Manzanar or the “apple orchard” was originally located in Owens Valley, near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This was a location were all the Japanese as a relocation center on a desert floor during the World War II.
After the event of Pearl Harbor, all the Japanese, according to the Executive Order 9066, were sent to these camps. It was a really hard time for the Japanese that changed their life forever because of the crucial conditions set by the government.
The Relocation camps opened on June 1, 1942. Leaving behind their homes, freedom, and businesses, all the Japanese traveled in buses to Manzanar. The camp was made out of 36 blocks of barracks with 1-mile stretched out area along with one light bulb, and a small kitchen stove that barely worked. Inside the barracks was an empty floor with all torn down walls with lots of sand on the floor. The Japanese had to remodel their area to be a little comfortable to make a pretend feeling of home until better would come. There were the mess halls that consisted of everyday boring food serving 3 times daily. The rules were that you must finish all your food and were welcome to get more. Though no one was willing to eat even the food they had in front of them. At the beginning everything was hard and difficult and the Japanese got easily tired. But as years passed, a few things around the camp started getting better. Men had an option for joining the army to fight for America which was known as the Treaty of Oath which later replaced locations of where families lived. When all the ballots were collected, there was a total of 442soldiers who formed to fight against Japan.

In keeping track of events around Manzanar, the Japanese American Citizens League formed a committee in which they could give orders to keep the camp in a set of rules. When the war ended, the government decided to close Manzanar and send all the Japanese back to their homes. Manzanar was closed at November 1945.

Pictures:

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmY2P-xT_Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ZzAleT0Kc&feature=related
Links:

http://www.manzanarcommittee.org/manzhistory.html

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Attack on Pearl Harbor

In early morning, December 7, 1941, in Oahu, Hawaii, Japan sent two waves of airplanes to attack Pearl Harbor.

The first wave hit its aim at 7:53 a.m. with the command of Admiral Isokuro Yamamoto. He had 360 airplanes, 2 battle ships, 2 cruisers, 3 submarines, and 6 destroyers under his command. He had planned to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor by 8:00 a.m. The first wave lived 8 battleships, 3 destroyers, 3 light cruisers, and 4 vessels shattered. Brusquely after the American Army was about to respond the attack with anti-aircraft guns, the second wave arrived. It was larger than the first wave and the American Navy couldn’t guard against it. This wave continued during the day and it left a huge impact on Pearl Harbor. 228 people were dead, and over 400 were seriously wounded.

When President Franklin D.Roosevelt got informed about this attack, he prearranged for a war against Japan and approved that the West Coast should be cleared of any Japanese people. The two main reasons for the “Attack on Pearl Harbor” were destroying American battle ships and aircrafts.