5 comments about Requiem for Battleship Yamato.

1. young, naive and inexperienced the author chronicles his one and only combat mission. relating his service on the japanese battleship 'yamato' author mitsuru gives perspective not only on what he does but on what he feels. fortunately for the reader mitsuru is an articulate writer who has had the opportunity to rewrite his recollections numerous times over the years before settling on this 'definitive' edition. the book runs as a subtle parallel of stories between the events happening around the author during war and what he thinks and feels as he faces his own mortality. an excellent perspective of man in conflict.
   also worth noting is the outstanding translation and introduction by richard minear.



2. This book is not for readers searching for details of battle, or apologies for participating in the miltary adventure against the US. Yoshida Mitsuru was an unlikely survivor of a suicide mission.
   
   Some of the reviewers have found this book morbid, and focused on death. Mitsuru attempts to describe his feelings and unaswered question that haunted him for the rest of his life. Why was he saved, when so many other died? Was there a purpose to his life, and the life of his dead shipmates. These are questions that all men ask to some extent, but for those caught in a war, life and death are close and constant companions.
   
   The normal thoughts of young men towards life and the future are put aside as their ship plows forward on a suicide mission.
   
   Do not buy or read this book if you are not prepared to think about the personal cost of war. Some have described this as an anti-war book. I do not believe that is a correct description. This book is written by someone whose education and social standing required him to enter the Navy, and go to war. I view this work as a refection of an eyewitness and wounded survivor. Such an experience at such a young age makes one an expert on the war experience, not the root causes of war or their justifications.
   
   Most men who shared Mitsuru's experience do not write, or even disuss their experiences. For some, just the thoughts of their experience is unbearable and the reason some end their days in mental hospitals.
   
   When Mitsuru wrote the first draft of this book, it fell under the authority and censorship of the American Occupation, which did not approve of the text.
   
   Which brings up the question not posed directly by this book. What "truths" were censored during the official investigations surrounding Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, and other matters that impacted on the ledgends and careers of Americans of that time?



3. "Ours is the signal honor of being the nation's bulwark. One day we must prove ourselves worthy."

   Requiem for Battleship Yamato is about sacrifice-immolation on the altar of national survival. It was written not to needlessly lionize the wanton sacrifice of combatants in order to bring to an end what one historian called "a war to establish and revive the stature of man." Instead, it was written, and properly so, as catharsis: Yoshida Mitsuru, as a 20-year old ensign on the bridge of the Yamato during its final voyage, had witnessed War, and thus wished that future generations would no longer be called upon to "prove themselves worthy," and to bear the burden of armed conflict.

   Yoshida's prose satisfactorily captures the spirit on board the Yamato prior to its climactic encounter. Yet there is no way to adequately describe what the men of the Yamato went through during the ship's final hours. One author called it "a glorious way to die." Alternatively, the battle could be described as a nautical siege, a maritime battle of Troy. There is no apotheosis in death; death is merely a release from duty. During the battle, one man struggles to keep the deck clean by throwing overboard limbs severed by bomb shrapnel or machine-gun fire. Below decks, men grapple with the bodies of their comrades; once-inviting hot tubs (the Yamato has several of them, we are told) are filled to the brim with the ranks of the dead. In the bridge, officers are mowed down by machine-gun bullets. There is no sanctuary aboard the most massive dreadnought ever constructed.

   This is a highly readable book, redolent with poignant memories, written by a man who had the courage to confront his phantoms. Through Yoshida's book, many souls who fought during the Pacific War found a voice.

   "Three thousand corpses, still entombed today. What were their thoughts as they died?"




4. Although perhaps unsurprising given the scale of Japan's losses and the bitterness of defeat, the fact remains that there are relatively few accounts of the war by those who fought with the Imperial Forces, and even fewer available in English.

   For this reason alone `Requiem for Battleship Yamato' would command attention even if it were only an average work. But it is not an average work; it is a classic in the truest sense of this much abused word, which must be placed alongside books such as `The Last Enemy' by Richard Hillary.

   Written in a spare, almost poetic style, `Requiem' tells the story of the Yamato's last doomed sortie from the viewpoint of one of her junior officers. Alongside glimpses of life on board the great battleship, we gain an insight into the thoughts and personal lives of her crew as they prepare for what most realise will be a mission from which there will be no return.

   As the tension mounts and enemy forces close in for the inevitable kill, Yoshida provides a moving commentary on the Yamato's last days and hours, with poignant vignettes of such figures as the force commander Vice Admiral Ito, who had correctly appreciated the futility of the mission yet carried out his task with calm resolution.

   With the Yamato entering her final death agony, Yoshida gives us harrowing descriptions of the effects of explosives and steel on human flesh - a timely reminder in this age of glossy propaganda of the true face of battle. Then there is the homecoming, with Yoshida's personal struggle to come to terms with the meaning of his survival while so many of his comrades are dead.

   No review of this book would be complete without acknowledging the outstanding work of its translator, Richard Minear, who has also provided an excellent introduction. Thanks to his efforts, this work will not only be read with profit by the military historian, but anyone who seeks to broaden his understanding of the human condition.




5. In the 1950's and 60's, Japanese memoirs of the Pacific War flooded forth from the publishers. Saburo Sakai's "Samurai", Hara's "Japanese Destroyer Captain," Mochitsura Hashimoto's "Sunk!" are just the tip of the spear. But Yoshida's "Requiem for Battleship Yamato" is simply in a class by itself. The youngest officer on board the mighty battleship, he was present when the giant was ordered on her suicide sortie. Escorted by the anti-aircraft cruiser Yahagi and numerous destroyers in April 1945, Yamato's mission was sublimely ridiculous: sail down toward the Ryuku Islands (where a massive American task force was staging the invasion of Okinawa), attack the landing force, beach itself, expend all weapons and ammunition, then the surviving crew members would join the garrison in Okinawa's defense. It was no surprise that the force didn't even make it halfway before being annihilated by U.S. planes. Yoshida's book is poetic and is beautifully translated by Richard Minnear who also provides a superb introduction as well. Yoshida's account of the American air attacks which inevitably shattered the Yamato, the Yahagi and most of the escorting destroyers come off as not combat, but high slaughter. Veterans who survived idiotic orders and suicide charges will find a spiritual brother in Yoshida. Don't be surprised if you have a tear in your eye for the brave crews of these ships as you close this book for the last time.

   Written as a tribute to his shipmates, "Requiem" is also a powerful anti-war book.

No comments about Shapers of Japanese Buddhism.

5 comments about Song of Survival: Women Interned.

1. The book is entertaining, well written and easy to read. Don't be fooled by the title it is a book for men and women alike. My book club is currently reading this book and everyone that I've talked to is enjoying it.



2. This book was educational as well as an enjoyable book to read. I used this book when studying stories of survival. My students really enjoyed listening and reading it.



3. This is a testimony to the strength of women and the power of music to soothe the soul. Music is a common ground for all people and this true story illustrates how beautiful sounds calm and restore our spirits and, in this story, that of the oppressors. There must be thousands of heroic folks who lived through this terrible war with strength and dignity. I am always glad to find another inspiring story.



4. I have not yet read the book, certainly plan on reading it. I have however attended aplay this past Friday evening. A local Community Theatre presented it and I was in great awe of their performance. They did great justice to the story line and I am so pleased to have been present. At the end I so wanted to stand up with/for them as they closed with The Captive's Hymn. The message of strength, courage, and spirit were felt by all in attendance. Such strength these women had, makes me proud of my female sisters!



5. It wasn't long ago that America watched "Paradise Road" in movie theaters across the country. Audiences were captivated with the story of a young girl and her family's struggle to survive imprisonment by the Japanese. Like many moviegoers today, the audience may not have read the inspirational work behind the motion picture. Helen Colijn's Song of Survival is a real story. The experiences that Coljin documents in her work are real. The author gives her readers a glimpse of her life, and that of the other women imprisoned in Southeast Asia by the Japanese during World War II. Readers follow Colijn through the experiences of a shipwreck, being captured, and being imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.

   Based on her original manuscript written just after her imprisonment, Colijn's story is one of hope and perseverance. Many other books written by soldiers and survivors of World War II are laden with hardship and sadness especially those books detailing the accounts of brutality of the Japanese during their quest to expand their empire westward through Asia such as The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Colijn's story is unique in that it details true survival of not just the body of the imprisoned, but the soul as well. The women of the camp in which Colijn was imprisoned used music to life their spirits and "free their souls" from detainment.

   Reading a book such as Song of Survival can open up a new door to the way in which we learn about prisoners of war. Colijn describes disease and starvation leading to the deaths of more than one-third of the population of the camp (Colijn 159-169). "Before our internment was over, twenty-six Dutch children lost their mothers," she says (Colijn 162). But all the while, the women kept their spirits from breaking entirely through singing classical songs and even performing vocal concerts among themselves (Colijn129-146). Colijn gives her readers an idea of the sisterhood within her camp among the prisoners. This feeling of family is often discussed within the realm of the formation of a brotherhood-such as is seen in Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose--of soldiers, but is rarely seen in accounts of imprisonment. The work is so poignant because Colijn is able to draw from true personal experiences.

   The author teaches her readers that even during imprisonment, with just a little faith and a little music, souls will have the ability to wander free. By using an effective autobiographical format, Colijn tells her story from a very personal perspective. She recalls the events so vividly that it is impossible for readers not to feel the same emotions that the prisoners felt. Colijn's work is so well crafted that even her feelings of optimism shine through the seemingly unpromising situation. As trite as it may seem, Colijn notes that several women even made "liberation dresses" to wear for the day that their camp was liberated by the Allied forces (Colijn 129).

   A book such as Colijn's is an important element in any study of World War II as it not only brings to light the idea of hope in spite of hardship, but it also shows what seems to be a neglected area of war accounts-the struggle of women as prisoners of war. A personal account of the struggles of being imprisoned by the Japanese that is so seasoned with hope is rarely seen. Colijn serves the women of her camp well with Song of Survival. With the work of one author, hundreds of women's stories will live on to be read by future generations who will bear witness to the events taking place-the immense struggle-during World War II. Song of Survival will live on long after the last survivor passes away. It will carry a message of faith and perseverance for the women in Colijn's camp who kept hope alive through their immense personal strength.

1 comments about I Call to Remembrance: Toyo Suyemoto's Years of Internment.

1. A moving and absorbing account of the experiences of one internee and her family, and the mental and physical hardships they endured. It illuminates a sad chapter in our history.

3 comments about Colonel & The Pacifist.

1. 1. In 1942 the Office of the Attorney General was Francis Biddle and James Rowe, the FBI director was Edgar Hoover of the Justice department, and John McCloy, General Gullion, and Bendetsen of the War department.
   2. Hoover attacked the military intelligence as exhibit signs of hysteria and lack of judgment.
   3. A heated debate emerged between the Justice Department and the War Department. Biddle said he opposed the mass evacuation. Gullion and DeWitt said the situation was precarious and the Japanese had to be removed. Biddle turmoil arose from a pull between the safety of the country and the fundamental protections allotted by the constitution. The War department said they would support evacuation upon DeWitt's recommendation. However, McCloy was concerned that DeWitt did not have enough grounds to justify a movement of this sort.
   4. McCloy said that after the compulsory expulsion of Japanese citizens that some might be permitted to return.
   5. What were DeWitts issues? DeWitt said, "I'm only concerned with getting them away from around these aircraft factories and other places." McCloy identified a few key installations: Consolidated-Vultee plant in San Diego, the Lockheed and Martin plants in Los Angeles, and Boeing in Seattle. However, protection of critical facilities did not require mass evacuation. More soldier were required to enforce internment than protection of critical faciltiies.
   6. Bendetsen wrote a paper, Feb, 1942, subject, "Alien enemies on the West Coast", he equated the enemy problem on the West coast with the sabotage problem. Bendetsen argued large concentrations of Japanese in close proximity to strategically critical areas threatened US security. However, there was no evidence of sabotage or a raid being attempted by West Coast Japanese. 2/3 of the 110,000 evacuees were US citizens, loyal to America, not Japan.
   7. Bendetsen created the idea of designated military areas that surrounded vital installations in the Western Defense Command and exclude all the Japanese as a measure of military necessity. Free citizen movement for relocation was not allowed and imprisonment resulted, a constitutional crisis. The War department stated that exclusion of the Japanese from a military area did not constitute a "arbitrary class discrimination". However, if this class of people were black, the US supreme court would have to disagree based on the history of segregation.
   8. General Gullion sent a memorandum to McCloy telling him the danger of Japanese inspired sabotage was great. Gullion, DeWitt, and Bendetsen shared the same fatalistic vision.
   9. By mid-febuary, the FBI had arrested 2,192 Japanese aliens, 1,393 Germans, and 264 Italians. Hoover was satisified that no further arrests were required. When asked about executive order 9066, he stated that no case had been made to justify mass evacuation for security reasons.
   10. The book, "Valor of Ignorance" by Homer Lea predicted thirty years prior Pearl Harbor changes in power nations would occur so Japan would be capable of invading a lightly populated and barely defendable West Coast. General DeWitt referenced the possible of "Valor of Ignorance".
   11. McCloy and General Mark put together questions associated with the Mass evacuation associated with the West Coast presented to Secretary of State Stimson. The central question for the president was "Is the President willing to authorize us to move US Japanese Citizens as well as enemy aliens from restricted areas? " Stimson met with President Roosevelt, on Feb 11, 1942 , said Stimson, "I took up with him the West Coast matter and told him the situation and fortunately found him very vigorous about it and told me to go ahead on the line that I had myself thought best." McCloy call Bendetsen and said, "the president states that there will probably be some repercussion, but it has got to be dictated by military necessity, but a he puts it, be as reasonable as you can." Bendetsen contact General Gullion and relayed the news.
   12. General Clark completed his report, Feb 12, on the inadvisability of mass evacuation, objecting against exodus, for two reasons: there was no perfect defense against sabotage and the solution must be weighted according to advantages and disadvantages. 1 for 5 soldiers was required to guard the internment Japanese for a total of 10,000 soldiers. General Clark recommended that identified as critical installations be given higher levels of protection.
   13. Journalist Lippman of the "Herald Tribune" liberal viewpoints on the matter of evacuation wrote "the pacific coast is imminent danger" stating that the Japanese Navy was "reconnoitering the Pacific Coast" and General Dewitt believed signaling was taking place. Lippman wrote that a conspiracy theory existed, "a sign that the blow is well-organized and that it is held back until it can be struck with maximum effect." The media frenzy and hysteria caused people to believe that that their Japanese neighbors were the enemy. The fact missing was most of the Japanese Submarines had returned to the Western Pacific. Attorney General response to Lippman column was "My last advice from the War Department is that there is no evidence of imminent attack and from the FBI that there is no evidence of planned sabotage."
   14. Dewitt supported Lippmans Fifth column arguments stating, "The Japanese race is an enemy race and many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil have become Americanized the racial strains are undiluted." Dewitt believed in a conspiracy of organized and concerted action at a favorable opportunity. "The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken."
   15. Executive order 9066 was passed March, 1942, and authorized Secretary of War, Stimson, to prescribe military areas ... from which any or all persons be excluded. Attorney General, Biddle did not believe the executive order 9066 required any enforcement by legisture. Biddle said the power granted to the War Department could be exercised against the Japanese regardless of their citizenship. Bendetsen knew the Congress alone could backup the executive order and was bitter towards the Justice Department.
   16. The permanent relocation camps were: Central Utah (Topaz), near Delta, Utah; Colorado river, at Poston, Arizona; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Gila River, southern Arizona; Granada, southeastern Colorado; Minidoka, north of Twin Falls, Idaho; Jerome and Rohwar, eastern Arkansas; Manzanar, Inyou County, California, and Tule Lake, northeastern California.
   17. Bendetsen recommended that once the Japanese evacuation was complete, the curfew on German and Italian aliens be lifted. While persons of Japanese ancestry could not hide their race, a curfew on European Group would require the creation of an identity-card system, which the president opposed.
   18. Are all men created equal? "If a patrio who loves his country is liable to imprisonment solely because of his/her national or racial ancestory, then...we would have to question whether we all are still dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." The failure to allow due process to take place deprived the individual, Justice recourse in the courts. The courts system allows an individual to petition for Justice. Therefore, rapid and immediate access to the court system is required allowing the individual not to be deprived the opportunity for Justice. The Judicial system was designed orginally as a safety valve against social inequality.
   19. In 1988, Congress passed the Civil Liberties act and in 1989, George H.W. Bush signed the appropriations bill and an apology.



2. 
   In The Colonel and the Pacifist, Klancy de Nevers writes of two individuals who were directly involved in a dark moment of the World War II era almost completely written out of history--the relocation of over 120,000 persons of Japanese heritage on the West Coast, better known as the Japanese internment camp affair. De Nevers' account involves U.S. Colonel Karl Bendetsen and Perry Saito, a Japanese American Methodist pastor and conscientious objector to war who lived with his family in the internment camp as a young man. The book begins to carve out the framework for the events following December 7, 1941 by explaining how the two men were commonly tied to the town of Aberdeen, Washington. She then follows them through Bendetsen's crucial decisions as colonel of the West Coast evacuation and Saito's work preaching peace in the post-war years.
   The strength of the book is in its details. By juxtaposing the lives of the colonel and the pacifist, de Nevers has created a unique read with very real details and surprising honesty from many primary sources. The book portrays the lives of two people with vastly different roles in and perspectives on the same series of events. The author carefully crafts the stories around each other while proceeding with the narrative in chronological order. This is done in a clearly intentional yet smooth manner that manages to keep a firm hold of the reader's attention. While adding detail, the well-placed photos and personal anecdotes of individuals close to Bendetsen and Saito add to the already lifelike characters. De Nevers' vivid portrayal of racial discrimination against peoples of Japanese ancestry leading up to and after the relocation project is a topic not often explored by American historians or novelists.
   While these very real moments and direct quotes help to reinforce the authenticity of Perry Saito's story, at times the firsthand accounts threaten to portray Aberdeen and its characters as too normal. Throughout the book more careful measures could have been taken to avoid biased comments. Certain facts are overly emphasized and opposing data is apologized for. Acronyms and abbreviations are liberally used in such a way that assumes the reader is familiar with not only the Japanese relocation project and those parties involved, but also the military and West Coast region.
   Overall the book is an interesting read and sheds light on a subject this reader otherwise knew very little about. The title was a bit misleading, as I would have hoped for more information on Perry Saito's works as a pacifist and social activist during and after his internment camp experience. The lengthy and detailed explanation of how the orders for the evacuation were formulated(pg. 85-125) was beyond both my understanding of and interest in military processes. Instead I would like to have found more inspirational stories about Perry Saito like the one about his sit-in at a diner in the Midwest when an unknown African American man was at first refused service.
   In conclusion, Perry Saito and Karl Bendetsen lived very different lives despite being close to one another in space and time. Perhaps this window to the past is one we should leave open for the time being. We just might learn something.



3. The Colonel and the Pacifist deals with a shameful part of the American record: the forced relocation of West Coast Japanese-Americans (many of whom were U.S. citizens) after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The author Klancy Clark deNevers puts a human face on these events by describing how the Colonel, Karl Bendetsen, promoted, engineered, and oversaw the program and how it affected the life of one of the Japanese-Americans, pacifist Perry Saito. Both protagonists grew up in Ms deNevers hometown of Aberdeen, Washington. From there their lives diverged.
   When Ms deNevers began her painstaking research she may have had little idea how relevant the issues raised would be in a post 9/11 United States. Many events of over sixty years ago have present day equivalents: racial prejudice and profiling, unwarranted detainments, suspects held incommunicado, fruitless FBI searches etc. This well told story can serve as a cautionary tale.

2 comments about Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun: The True Story of a Missionary Family's Survival and Faith in a Japanese Prisoner-Of-War Camp During Wwii.

1. This book is well written and quite well documented. It contains some of the best endnotes I've seen in a long time. The author drew from several other diaries (often not published) to present a more well rounded view often elaborating in the chapter endnotes. My only complaint is that the notes were presented at the end of the chapter instead of as page footnotes. I was constantly flipping pages to access the notes as I read. Overall an interesting book to anyone fascinated with WWII.



2. This book kept me glued to the page. A gripping account of a teenager stuck in a concentration camp without having done anything wrong. A surprising lack of rancor, the author gives a picture of the good and bad in the people on both sides of the conflict. Also unusual are the admissions of less than perfect actions on his own part. It almost made me feel like I had been there.

2 comments about The Code of Love: The True Story of Two Lovers Torn Apart by the War That Brought Them Together.

1. This is simply the best book I have read in a long time.

   Andro Linklater writes clearly and eloquently about the love affair between Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill at the eve of World War II. He brings to life the great excitement of their budding romance and the long, difficult years they spent apart, Pamela doing her part to support England's war efforts at home and Donald languishing in a Japanese concentration camp.

   The atrocities that Donald experienced are described in a matter of fact manner that does not take away from the sheer horror of what he must have endured. He was determined to document what happened in the camp at the risk of his own life and eventually coded his diary to ensure that it would not be discovered. Through it all, his promise to return to Pamela gave him the will to survive.

   Years later after Donald's death, Pamela resolved to know the contents of his diary so she could understand what had happened to him, what had happened to them. I found the efforts to decode his diary just as fascinating as the turbulent relationship between Pamela and Donald.

   This is an intelligent and articulate account of two passionate people caught up in the throes of war and their struggle to regain their lives and relationship once reunited. It is a romance, a war history, and a mystery all rolled into one.

   I am recommending it to everyone I know. Read it!





2. Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill were very much in love and living in England right before the outbreak of World War II. Donald was sent overseas and spent three and a half years in a Japanese prison camp. He was never the same after the war, but tried to live a normal life with Pamela and their children.

   David kept a diary during his imprisonment, but no one could crack the code until years after Donald's death, when Pamela found a mathematician who solved the mystery.

   This book tells Donald and Pamela's sad, but moving story of true love, the horrors of war and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

1 comments about Adios to Tears: The Memoirs of a Japanese-Peruvian Internee in U.S. Concentration Camps.

1. This is a book written by my Grandfather. It is about how while living in Peru, he and his family were taken to an internment camp in the United States during World War II. What I really like about his retelling of this time of his life is that he stays so positive. Everything was taken away from him. Yet, he knows that he can rebuild and live a better life here in America. I am proud of the life he lived. I am thankful that he succeeded here so that I could live in this great nation, too.

5 comments about Jim's Journey: A Wake Island Civilian POW's Story.

1. In "Jim's Journey: A Wake Island Civilian POW's Story," LA Magnino has done a magnificent job of recounting her father Jim Allen's experiences as a Wake Island contract worker, defender, and prisoner of the Japanese.
   Jim's story is but a microcosm of the men, civilians and military alike, galvanized by the Great Depression whose paths led them into one of the greatest sagas of WWII history.
   Magnino's writing style is clear and rivals many of the other Wake Island stories I've read. She carefully negotiates her father's less than colloquial English to extract a tidy narrative. Maginio's work also reveals, to the credit of her father's skills of observation, many details of the Wake experience not previously documented by historical scholars.
   While I would not consider "Jim's Journey" a necessarily scholarly work itself, it does remain an important contribution to the historical records of WWII.
   REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE THE OPINIONS OF ALL READERS!



2. I received this book for Christmas, autographed by the Author & Jim Allen from one of my daughters. The book is very well written and has lots of interesting photos and illustrations to complement and authenticate the story. It certainily gives those of us that were too young to fight or be involved in WW II a better insight of what transpired to our servicemen and civilians that were taken as POW's by the Japanese. The recoginition of the civilian POWs was a very long time in comming, which unfortunately happens all to frequently.
   
   I would highly recommend this book for all.



3. This is a very detailed and educational story. It's great to have a personal account to better understand the sometimes forgotten history of Japanese POW's during WWII.



4. It's interesting to see how a prisoner of war can recall with such detail, even though they may not have spoken of the ordeal in years... Magnino does a wonderful job of preserving Jim's memories... Especially interesting to those who know of Pearl Harbor, but not of other POWs and battles.



5. Jim's Journey: A Wake Island Civilian POW's Story is the compelling, true-life account of James A. Allen and his survival of 1,354 days of imprisonment as a civilian prisoner of war after being captured by the Imperial Japanese navy in December 1941 when the Marine garrison on Wake Island was finally overwhelmed. Jim was held in Japanese POW camps in China, Korea, and Japan. In addition to his eye-witness account of life as a POW, Jim's Journey also relates what happened to him when he was finally liberated and returned to America. It would be thirty-seven years before the U.S. government would official recognize that Jim and other eligible civilian POWs for their contributions to the dramatic defense of Wake Island against insurmountable hostile forces. Jim's Journey is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to the history of POW experiences arising from World War II in the Pacific Theater.

1 comments about Fighting Tradition: A Marine's Jour to Justice (Intersections Asian and Pacific American Transcultural Studies) (Intersections Asian and Pacific American Transcultural Studies).

1. There was no tradition of discriminating against Asians in the USMC...I would refer you to Navy Cross recipient Maj Chew-Een Lee USMC - what do you think he underwent being a AA Marine officer in the 50s! I was at OCS the same time Bruce was there...no big deal - some racial remarks but nothing I would call institutionalized discrimination. I and a Vietnamese-American graduated the same summer he was there - why weren't we dropped? Maybe because we performed to acceptable standards while Bruce did not. OCS is meant to subject candidates to mental and physical stress - if you can't hack someone calling you names - how will you take combat?? Most of my Sgt Instructors were minorities themselves - if anything I think they were glad to see that a minority was becoming an officer. I've been a Marine officer for 15 years and can only say - I think he's made himself famous at the expense of other AA Marine officers who have graduated OCS without having to file a lawsuit.
   Semper Fidelis