Browse > Theme > War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy

36 articles

1
2

Eyes of the Emperor (book)

Books
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 6-8
Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Evils of racism, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Self-preservation, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Historical novel aimed at middle school readers based on the true story of Nisei solders from Hawai'i who were made to serve as "bait" in a program that attempted to train dogs to recognize and attack the supposed distinctive smell of "Japanese" during World War II.

Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8
Young Adult
Evils of racism, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Book aimed at middle and high school audiences on the experience of Japanese Americans during World War II, that focuses equally on the wartime incarceration and on military service.

From a Silk Cocoon (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Individual versus society, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary film recounting the wartime story of a Kibei couple, Itaru and Shizuko Ina and their two young children as reconstructed by their daughter Satsuki Ina. Ina and co-directors Emery Clay III and Stephen Holsapple tell the story largely through the couple's own words in the form of Shizuko's diary and letters to each other when they become separated in the course of their incarceration.

Ganbare Don't Give Up! (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Immigrant experience, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Rights - individual or societal, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
No availability

Documentary film that provides an overview of what happened to Japanese Americans in Hawai'i during World War II, focusing on the limited internment of Issei community leaders and the exploits of Japanese American men in the armed forces. Ganbare Don't Give Up! was produced as a part of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i's core exhibition, Okage Sama De: I am what I am because of you , which remains the only place where it can be viewed.

From Bullets to Ballots (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Quest for power, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Working class struggles
Widely available

Documentary film on Japanese Americans from Hawai'i as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and their role in the political realignment of Hawai'i after the war. From Bullets to Ballots was one of three short films directed by Robert A. Nakamura and produced by Karen L. Ishizuka in conjunction with From Bento to Mixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Multicultural Hawai'i, an exhibition produced by the Japanese American National Museum in 1997.

From Hawaii to the Holocaust: A Shared Moment in History (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Evils of racism, Facing darkness, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary film on the men of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and their encounter with Jewish victims of the Nazi death camps at the end of World War II. The 1993 film was a production of the Hawaii Holocaust Project.

Heart Mountain (book)

Books
Adult
Historical Fiction
Disillusionment and dreams, Displacement, Love and sacrifice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Novel by acclaimed essayist and nature/travel writer Gretel Ehrlich. Set inside and outside of the Heart Mountain , Wyoming, concentration camp, Heart Mountain was published by Viking in 1988.

Ho'onani Makuakane (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Power of the past, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Quest for discovery
Widely available

Episode of the Hawaii Five-0 TV series from 2013 that featured a Japanese American internment-related storyline.

American (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
Heroism – real and perceived, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

Short narrative film starring George Takei as a Nisei veteran and Japanese American National Museum docent named Clinton Nakamoto. While on duty one day at the museum, he meets a woman with a young daughter and starts to give them a tour. The woman mentions that her grandfather had fought in the "422" and shows Clinton a picture of him on her phone. The picture sends Clinton back to the 1942, recalling his anger at the forced removal and later of serving in the 442nd with the grandfather, who was killed in the rescue of the Lost Battalion . He takes her to visit the Go for Broke memorial, where they find his name on it. On the way home on the bus, he strikes up a friendship with a young Muslim boy.

Remembering Manzanar: Life in a Japanese Relocation Camp (book)

Books
Grades 7-8
Grades 7-8
Young Adult, History
Evils of racism, Injustice, Power of the past, Reunion, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Book for younger children about the Manzanar concentration camp.

442: For the Future (film)

Films and Video
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Limited availability

Docu-drama by Patricia Kinaga that tells the story of the Japanese American World War II experience with a focus on the exploits of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , through the experiences of four characters.

Stanley Hayami, Nisei Son (book)

Books
Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 9-12, Adult
Memoir
Evils of racism, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Book built around the wartime diary and letters of Stanley Hayami that document his incarceration at the Heart Mountain , Wyoming, concentration camp and his military service in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team .

A Tradition of Honor (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism – real and perceived, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Feature length documentary telling the stories of Japanese American soldiers in the 100th Infantry Battalion , 442nd Regimental Combat Team , and Military Intelligence Service , produced in 2002 by the Go For Broke National Education Foundation.

Valor with Honor (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, War
War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism – real and perceived, Evils of racism
Available

Documentary film by Burt Takeuchi that tells the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Eschewing a narrator, the film is built around the thirty-five interviews with veterans Takeuchi conducted and also includes brief reenactments of battle scenes that were shot at Sequoia Paintball Park in Santa Cruz, California. Valor With Honor tells the story in largely chronological fashion, starting with prewar life, the impact of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the roundup of Japanese Americans on the West Coast before getting to induction and basic training, combat in Italy, the rescue of the Lost Battalion , the liberation of Dachau sub camps, and the return to postwar society. Much of the running time focuses on the Rescue of the Lost Battalion and includes interviews with members of the 141st, the men who were rescued. The 86-minute film was completed in 2010 and has been screened widely across …

Under the Blood Red Sun (book)

Books
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 6-8
Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Coming of age, Companionship as salvation, Growing up – pain or pleasure, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Acclaimed novel for young adults set in the early months of World War II told through the eyes of a teenage Nisei protagonist in Honolulu whose father and grandfather are both interned. The novel was made into a feature film in 2014. It was followed by a sequel, House of the Red Fish , in 2006.

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.

Asian Americans, Episode 2: A Question of Loyalty (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heartbreak of betrayal, Nationalism – complications, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

The second of five episodes of a landmark documentary on the Asian American experience, A Question of Loyalty focuses on the World War II period, telling the story of three Asian American families, two of which are Japanese American.

Burma Rifles: A Story of Merrill's Marauders (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Historical Fiction, Children's
Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Limited availability

Book for young readers by Frank Bonham centering on a Nisei intelligence soldier in Burma during World War II. Published in 1960, it is among the first children's books to depict the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Beyond Barbed Wire (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, Disillusionment and dreams
Available

A 1997 documentary film on the Japanese American soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion , the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service who fought for the United States during World War II while some of their families were held in concentration camps. The film is based on interviews with numerous veterans as well as with their wives and adult children. Among topics touched on in Beyond Barbed Wire are friction between men from Hawai'i and the continental U.S. during basic training; the unusual story of Korean American Colonel Young O. Kim; the rescue of the Lost Battalion , and the continuing legacy of the veterans for their families. One unique aspect of the film is its treatment of the controversy over the role of Major General John Dahlquist , whom some veterans feel used the Nisei as "cannon fodder." In telling the story of the mass incarceration, …

Before They Take Us Away (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Desire to escape, Evils of racism, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary film on " voluntary evacuation ," built around interviews with Japanese Americans whose families were among the roughly 5,000 who left the West Coast restricted area prior to the forced removal of Japanese Americans. After providing background on the prewar context and beginning of World War II, the bulk of the film focuses on the experiences of the families, most of whom moved to Utah or Colorado where they faced much hardship and discrimination, while also retaining their freedom. The film also specifically notes the case of Keetley Farms , a Nikkei settlement in Utah. The film is narrated in the first-person by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, who also reflects on her own family's wartime experience. The interviews are augmented by voice actors reading quotes from key officials and newspaper accounts from the time.

Both Alike in Dignity (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Evils of racism, Reunion, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

Short story by Chester Sakamoto about an elderly Holocaust survivor who mistakenly gets off the bus in Little Tokyo , where he meets an elderly Nisei man. One Sunday, on his weekly visit to a friend in Pasadena, Mr. Muncznik gets off the bus too early and ends up in Little Tokyo. Sitting to get his bearings, he finds himself next to a statue of a Japanese man. Friendly Mr. Sata stops and explains that it is a statue of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who risked his career and safety to help thousands of Jews escape Lithuania during the war. Conversation ensues about each man's wartime experience—Mr. Sata had lived in Little Tokyo before the war and had been sent with his family to Heart Mountain —revealing a startling coincidence.

Thin Wood Walls (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8
Children's, Historical Fiction
Coming of age, Evils of racism, Loss of innocence, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Children's book by David Patneaude that follows a Japanese American boy and his family as they are forcibly removed from their Washington state home and sent to the Tule Lake concentration camp during World War II.

The War (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary mini-series by Ken Burns on the American experience of World War II. Produced in 2006, The War debuted on public television stations in September 2007, shown in seven roughly two-hour parts. Included in the sprawling documentary is the story of Japanese American forced removal and incarceration as well as the story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team .

Japanese American Internment Camps (Children's Press) (book)

Books
Grades 3-5
Grades 3-5
Children's, History
Evils of racism, Hazards of passing judgment, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Available

Short overview book for younger children on the wartime removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans that is part of Children's Press's "Cornerstones of Freedom," Second Series of books.

Korematsu and Civil Liberties (film)

Films and Video
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Documentary
Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary video focusing on the collision of security concerns and civil liberties as illustrated by theWorld War II roundup of Japanese Americans and the Korematsu Supreme Court case.

1
2