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

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From Barbed Wire to Battlefields: Japanese American Experiences in WWII (exhibition)

Museum Exhibitions
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Heroism - real and perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Displacement, Evils of racism
Available

Exhibition on the Japanese American incarceration and on Japanese Americans in the U.S. armed forces during World War II at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Barbed Wire to Battlefields opened in the Joe W. and D. D. Brown Foundation Special Exhibit Gallery on March 15, 2014, and ran through October 12, 2014. The exhibition featured the photographs of Dorothea Lange , Ansel Adams , and Bill Mambo along with objects and video interviews. In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum put on a slate of public programs including book events, lectures, and film screenings, and incorporated curricular material and a webinar aimed at school children. The exhibition was funded in part by the Annenberg Foundation and the Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation. The National World War II Museum opened in New Orleans in 2000 at the National D-Day Museum.

Go for Broke! (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real or perceived, Hazards of passing judgment
Widely available

1951 feature film that tells the story of 442nd Regimental Combat Team and that climaxes with the rescue of the "Lost Battalion." A popular and critical success, Go For Broke! represents a landmark in the representation of Japanese Americans in Hollywood films. The film focuses on the transformation of the initially bigoted Lt. Michael Grayson (played by Van Johnson), who is assigned to command the all-Japanese American unit. The members of the 442nd were mostly played by Nisei veterans. Producer and MGM studio head Dore Schary would produce another film centered around bigotry aimed at Japanese Americans four years later, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).

Hell to Eternity (film)

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

Hell to Eternity , directed by Phil Karlson and released in 1960, is a Hollywood war film that dramatizes the real-life story of Guy Gabaldon (played by Jeffrey Hunter), an American Marine who singlehandedly captured over 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians on the Island of Saipan during the fighting there in mid-1944. In addition to its portrait of Gabaldon's wartime heroism, Hell to Eternity is notable as the first Hollywood film to portray the wartime confinement of Japanese Americans.

Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II (exhibition)

Museum Exhibitions
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Heroism - real and perceived, Patriotism - positive side or complications, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
No availability

Exhibition on Japanese Americans in the military during World War II that was organized by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Public History Program in 2004. Undaunted Courage included the stories of the 100th Infantry Battalion , 442nd Regimental Combat Team , and Military Intelligence Service as well as a kiosk featuring stories of Japanese American veterans collected by the Go For Broke National Education Center. The exhibition was one of eight exhibitions in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area that were part of the Life Interrupted project, a collaboration between the Japanese American National Museum and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Three of the exhibitions, all on some aspect of the Japanese American military experience, were displayed at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, the other two being Beyond the Call of Duty: Honoring the 24 Japanese American Medal of Honor Recipients and Witness: Our Brothers' …

What If Heroes Were Not Welcome Home? (exhibition)

Museum Exhibitions
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Heroism - real and perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Isolation
Widely available

Exhibition on the return of Nisei soldiers to their Hood River, Oregon, home, recounting the chilly reception they received from the local community as well as highlighting those who stood up for them. Curated by Linda Tamura and Marsha Matthews and organized by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS), What If Heroes Were Not Welcome Home? debuted at the OHS in Portland in August 2013 in conjunction with the display of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Japanese American veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , 100th Infantry Battalion , and Military Intelligence Service .

Witness: Our Brothers' Keepers (exhibition)

Museum Exhibitions
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Evils of racism, Patriotism - positive side or complications, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real and perceived
No availability

Exhibition on Japanese Americans and Jewish Americans in the military during World War II and their participation in the liberation of Nazi extermination camps organized by the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. Witness debuted in on April 20, 1995, in JANM's Legacy Center Gallery to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Dachau. It closed on August 27, 1995. [1]

Fighting for Tomorrow: Japanese Americans in America's Wars (exhibition)

Museum Exhibitions
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Patriotism - positive side or complications, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Injustice
Limited availability

Exhibition on Japanese Americans in the American armed forces that debuted at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in 1995.

The Experience of Japanese Americans in the United States: A Teacher Resource Manual (curricula)

Curricula
Pre-K, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Displacement, Evils of racism, Immigrant experience, Injustice, Knowledge versus ignorance, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

The Advisory Council to the Ethnic Heritage Project of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) developed, printed and distributed this manual in 1975. It was one of the first efforts to provide K–12 instructional materials about the history and achievements of Japanese Americans in the United States. The aim of the manual was to counter existing teaching materials which contained information that "portray(ed) persons of Japanese ancestry in a distorted or stereotypic fashion" (page 6). In addition, the authors sought to see Japanese Americans represented in the educational system's instructional framework of cultural pluralism.

The Steel Helmet (film)

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

Dramatic film about infantry soldiers in the Korean War written and directed by Samuel Fuller. One of the ensemble is a Nisei soldier and World War II veteran played by Richard Loo. It is likely the first Hollywood film to note the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II in a disapproving manner.

When Military Necessity Overrides Constitutional Guarantees: The Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Evils of racism, Immigrant experience, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

This curriculum guide examines the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans through the lens of its constitutional merit. It should be noted that it was published in 1982, and it contains terminology that in 2017 is considered inappropriate and/or offensive in the use of "Oriental" versus Asian or Asian American. In addition, many of the suggested classroom materials are outmoded (filmstrips) or out of print and may be difficult to access. The guide refers to a "media kit" which may have been available when the guide was first published.

An American Story: The History of California's Nisei Veterans (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism - real and perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
No availability

Short documentary on California's Nisei veterans produced by photographer Tom Graves. The video was funded by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program .

Ancestry is Not a Crime: The Internment of People of Japanese Descent During World War II (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12
Displacement, Evils of racism, Injustice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Limited availability

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Hawai'i state legislature funded the development of Ancestry is Not a Crime , focused on the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. The 192-page curriculum aims to engage elementary through high school students with this complex history, to wrestle with the meaning of democratic principles, and to think critically about civil liberties and the responsibilities of a democratic citizenry.

Blue Skies and Thunder: Farm Boy, Pilot, Inventor, TSA Officer, and WWII Soldier of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (book)

Books
Memoir
Coming of age, Death - inevitable or tragedy, Disillusionment and dreams, Displacement, Facing reality, Family - blessing or curse, Injustice, Loss of innocence, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Available

Mixed race Nisei shares his story, from a tough childhood growing up on a farm in the Midwest to his experiences in combat with the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion during World War II.

Calling Tokyo: Japanese American Radio Broadcasters During World War II (film)

Films and Video
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Adult
Documentary
Patriotism - complications, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Limited availability

Documentary film directed by Gary T. Ono that tells the story of a small group of Japanese Americans recruited out of the concentration camps to work for the British Political Warfare Mission (BPWM) and Office of War Information (OWI) as translators and broadcasters of propaganda aimed at Japan. The small group—eight who worked for the OWI and four for the BPWM—were mostly Kibei and worked out of a Denver studio. Both groups translated American news reports that were made into radio scripts and broadcasts transmitted by shortwave radio. The operation later moved to San Francisco in February 1945, when Japanese Americans were allowed to return to the West Coast.

Citizen Tanouye (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism - real or perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Rights - individual or societal
Available

A 2005 documentary film that tells the story of eight high school students from Torrance High School in California, and their discovery of a school alumnus named Ted Tanouye and his experiences during World War II. A Japanese American soldier of the renowned 442nd Regimental Combat Team who was killed in action and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient , Technical Sergeant Tanouye and his family were nonetheless incarcerated at the Jerome and Rohwer , Arkansas, concentration camps from 1942–45, without due process. By researching Tanouye's personal history through school yearbooks, newspapers, internet sites and by conducting interviews with Japanese American veterans, the relevance of history and importance of civil liberties becomes tangible for the students, who come to see the parallels between the Japanese American experience during World War II and their own lives and the impact war had on their city.

Classroom Guide for the National Japanese Memorial to Patriotism (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the Past, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

The National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 2000. It was initially developed in 1988 by the "Go For Broke" National Veterans Association Foundation; ownership was transferred to the United States Government in 2002. The Memorial is currently managed by the National Park Service. The classroom guides (one for upper elementary/middle school and another for high school) are designed for teachers to provide an overview of the Memorial and to provide some basic information about the World War II experience of Japanese Americans, particularly around forced removal, incarceration, and military service.

Color of the Sea (book)

Books
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Coming of age, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

A coming-of-age novel by first time novelist John Hamamura centering on a Kibei raised in Japan, Hawai'i, and California and that climaxes with his wartime experiences that include arrest, the Military Intelligence Service , and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The book won an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association in 2007.

The Silent Glory (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real and perceived
Limited availability

Documentary film on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Relying on archival and newsreel footage along with interviews, The Silent Glory begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the subsequent mass forced removal of West Coast Japanese Americans, continuing with the struggle to restore eligibility to military service for Japanese Americans and the military history of the 442nd, and climaxing with the rescue of the Lost Battalion and the movement to award Congressional Medals of Honor many years later. Among those interviewed are George Katagiri, Kennie Namba, George Oiye , and Al Ouchi, along with Martin Higgins, one of the commanders of the "Lost Battalion." Producer and director Zed Merrill specializes in making films about relatively little known aspects of World War II.

The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear was Stronger than Justice (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Injustice, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

This lesson for upper elementary and secondary students produced by the National Park Service centers on files from the National Register of Historic Places: " Manzanar War Relocation Center" and " Rohwer Relocation Center Memorial Cemetery". The lesson can be used in the study of World War II in U.S. History or human rights in a social studies unit. Links allow teachers to search for relevant curriculum standards by subject and grade level.

Honor and Sacrifice: The Roy Matsumoto Story (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism - real or perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Available

A 2013 documentary film about Japanese American Kibei war hero Roy Matsumoto and his family during World War II, as told through the eyes of his daughter Karen. A decorated linguist with the Military Intelligence Service who was a part of Merrill's Marauders, an American guerrilla unit in Burma, Matsumoto served even though his parents and sisters were living in Hiroshima and three of his Nisei brothers were ultimately conscripted into the Japanese army.

Journey of Honor (film)

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

Documentary film produced and directed by Stuart Yamane centering on a trip by a group of Hawai'i Nisei veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team to Italy some fifty-five years after they fought there during World War II. In documenting the trip, Yamane reconnects with his late and estranged father Masakichi, a World War II veteran, who had served with some of the men on the trip. Led by columnist and military history buff Bob Jones, the trip includes stops at Pietrasanta, where they the men are honored in a Liberation Day ceremony and take part in the unveiling of a statue honoring Sadao Munemori ; Mt. Fologorito, where they have a reunion with the Alpini, the Italian Mountain Corps who guided Allied troops; the American Cemetary and Memorial in Nettuno; and, finally, Monte Cassino, a mountain that was the site of one of their most …

Letters from the 442nd: The World War II Correspondence of a Japanese American Medic (book)

Books
Historical Nonfiction
Communication - verbal and nonverbal, Companionship as salvation, Death - inevitable or tragedy, Displacement, Facing reality, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Will to survive
Available

Letters sent by a medic in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team serving in Europe to his wife incarcerated at Minidoka concentration camp during World War II.

Midway (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Available

Epic war movie that tells the story of the Battle of Midway, the turning point of the Pacific War, from both the American and Japanese perspectives. Made for a modest budget despite its all-star cast, Midway was successful at the box office. In addition to employing many Japanese American actors in the roles of Japanese naval officers, the movie has a subplot involving the internment/incarceration of Japanese Americans.

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.

Most Honorable Son (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, Biography
War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real or perceived
Available

Documentary film that profiles Nisei war hero Ben Kuroki , tracing his life from his Nebraska childhood, his fight to be allowed to serve in the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, his bombing missions over Europe and Japan, and his visits to American concentration camps in which Japanese Americans were held. Kuroki tells much of the story in his own words, which are augmented by many interviews with crew members who flew with him in both Europe and Japan. In addition to archival footage and photographs, the filmmakers also film reenactments of a few key episodes. Among the incidents highlighted are the dramatic raid on the Ploesti oilfields in what is now Romania, one of Kuroki's last missions in Europe; his speech before the Commonweath Club in San Francisco upon his return; and his visit to the Heart Mountain concentration camp of which inmates Eiichi Sakauye, Jack Tono, …

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