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3 articles
Armed with Language (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Heroism – real and perceived, Role of men, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Documentary film on the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage and Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and about Nisei in the MIS in general. Written and narrated by writer and poet David Mura, Armed with Language , begins with the forced removal and incarceration of West Coast Japanese Americans and the dilemma of the men who volunteered for the MIS despite their or their families' incarceration. The film uses interviews with MIS veterans and their families along with military historians to tell the story of the language school and of the MIS soldiers in the Pacific, highlighting stories of Merrill's Marauders, Nisei women in the MIS, and Nisei in the occupation of Japan. There is also a brief segment on resettlement and the growth of the Japanese American community in the Twin Cities as well as on the Redress movement and relevance of the story today.
Minnesota's Remarkable Secret School for Language: Curriculum and Resource Guide (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8
- Patriotism - positive side or complications, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
During World War II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) trained 6,000 soldiers—mostly Japanese Americans (second generation – "Nisei")—in the Japanese language to support the war effort with translation, interpretation and interrogation. The MIS language school (MISLS) came to Camp Savage, Minnesota, in 1942 and then moved in 1944 to Fort Snelling, both in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. It was originally established in 1941 at the Presidio in San Francisco and moved back to the Presidio in 1946. The MIS played a critical role in the American victory over Japan in the Pacific and is credited with shortening the war by two years, saving many lives and great expense. This 72-page curriculum and resource guide is intended for Grade 6, however, the authors suggest it can be adapted for Minnesota History and/or WWII History.
Sleeping on Potatoes: A Lumpy Adventure from Manzanar to the Corporate Tower (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Desire to escape, Displacement, Facing reality, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Social mobility
- Limited availability
Memoir of a Nisei, from his early childhood as the son of a violent father and a loving mother, his experience incarcerated at Manzanar , his career as a successful physicist at Honeywell, and his years after retiring.