Facing The Mountain: An Inspiring Story Of Japanese American Patriots in World War II, Brown - B

                    "At its heart, this is a story of young men - some of the bravest Americans, the Nisei warriors of World War II, and how they, through their actions, laid bare...what exactly it means to be American. But it's also the story of their immigrant parents, the Issei, who like other immigrants before them...faced suspicion and prejudice from the moment they arrived in America." "It's the story of the first Americans since the Cherokee in 1838 to face wholesale forced removal from their homes, deprivation of their livelihoods, and mass incarceration."

                     A third of Hawaii's residents in December, 1941 were of Japanese ancestry. One young man, Kats Miho, was a freshman at the University of Hawaii and a member of the Army ROTC.  Martial law was declared the afternoon of the 7th and the islands were completely blacked out. On Maui, Kats' father was arrested that same day. Issei were considered resident aliens and not allowed to become citizens. In January, Kats Miho and all of his colleagues in the ROTC were dismissed from their roles in the Territorial Guards.

                   A month later, FDR authorized the military to establish exclusion zones. The western sections of California, Oregon and Washington were designated as places requiring the expulsion of all Issei and Nisei. Knowing that the Hawaiian economy would collapse if the Japanese-Americans were removed, only people on FBI lists on the islands were incarcerated. In Salinas, CA, Rudy Tokiwa and his farmer parents were put behind barbed wire. In Seattle, Gordon Hirabayashi, a student at the University of Washington, refused to relocate and surrendered to the FBI. He apparently was the only person in the west coast exclusion zone to cite his constitutional rights and refuse to be relocated. Ironically, the law required people to consent to their exclusion and he could not be excluded without signing a form. Instead, he was jailed, indicted, and convicted. The Tokiwa family was sent to Poston, AZ. Meanwhile in Hawaii, Kats Miho worked as a laborer on Maui.

              On February 1, 1943, the US authorized the enlistment of Nisei. The Army expected 1500. Ten thousand volunteered. Kats Miho and his older brother were among them. Fred Kisaburo, son of an Issei laundryman in Washington, was outside of the exclusion zone, walked out of Gonzaga in Spokane, and enlisted the day he learned of the new rule. Rudy signed up at his internment camp. The members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were sent to Mississippi for basic training. Basic is hard enough, but in addition to the incredible heat and humidity and living in the Jim Crow south, there was a constant ongoing confrontation between the Hawaiians and the Nisei from the west coast. The islanders were happy go lucky people used to a bountiful life in Hawaii, and whose family members were home and free. Most of the mainlanders families were imprisoned. Tensions between the two groups escalated until a chaplain and the commanding officer came up with plan. They sent the Hawaiians to visit two nearby internment camps. Chastened by what they saw, they paved the way toward a reconciliation of the two groups. By the time the 442nd went overseas, they were united. In May, 1944, they headed for Italy.

           Gordon Hirabashi was released from prison and returned to Washington to continue his work with the Quaker American Friends Service Committee. When he saw the questionnaire and loyalty oath that all Nisei were expected to sign, he refused. In the camps, traditional family ways were falling apart. Because everyone ate in canteens, the concept of the family meal was no more. The older Issei had nothing to do and lost their natural leadership roles and status. And after the US allowed Nisei to enlist, their daughters did the unthinkable. They ignored their parents and joined the Women's Army Corps.

           The 442nd marched north from Anzio in June. They entered western Tuscany and faced the Germans for the first time on June 26th. The infantry had a difficult first day, but the artillery excelled. Around them, death dominated the day, with Germans and their colleagues falling everywhere.  They fought continuously into July. Four hundred of the initial 4,000 were casualties. The Germans always commanded the higher ground that the 442nd approached. The Americans continued to move forward. They crossed the Arno and faced the Gothic Line constructed along the spine of the Apennines. They were also gaining attention back in the US for their successes, and their enemy called them 'the little iron men.' On Sept 6, they were pulled back to the south and sent off to Marseille for the attack up the Rhone Valley. They went back into action a month later in the Vosges. With their homeland just 30 miles away, the Germans fiercely defended every yard of ground. Relentless and constant combat ensued. They made headlines around the US for saving the 'Lost Battalion' of Texans surrounded by the Germans. 

          In late 1944, FDR ended the exclusion and evacuation protocols. The decimated 442nd was pulled out of the lines and given duty in the Maritime Alps far from the fighting. They took extended leave on the coast enjoying the Riviera at Christmastime. Gordon Hirabayashi was now married to a white woman, the father of twins and incarcerated for refusing the loyalty oath and the draft. In March, the 'Champagne Campaign' was over, and the 442nd headed back to Italy. The Fifth Army still had not breached the Gothic Line after seven months and wanted the 442nd to assist. Within two days, they broke through. Soon, the war in Europe ended. The surviving boys from the 442nd went home.

      The 442nd was the most decorated unit in the war. Its men received 21 Medals of Honor, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4000 Bronze Stars and over 4,000 Purple Hearts. Nonetheless, the men were mostly met with continued unrelenting hatred as Japs when they returned to the mainland. Truman attempted to honor and compensate the Japanese-Americans abused during the war. He pardoned all of the draft resisters. In 1952, a law allowed the Issei to apply for US citizenship. Congress awarded the survivors of the camps $20,000 and an apology in 1988. In 2012, the Nisei warriors were presented with Congressional Gold Medals. Gordon Hirabayashi was posthumously award the Congressional Medal of Freedom.

     Thanks again to Carl Kreitler for the recommendation. This a fabulous story of courage in the face of appalling racism.