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No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawaii during World War II

One of the most interesting things about WWII in the U.S. was the way persons of Japanese ancestry were treated almost totally differently in Hawaii and on the West Coast of the mainland. They formed over a third of Hawaii's population, yet they were not subjected to the widespread anti-Japanese propaganda and hatred that the same group suffered on the mainland. They were not moved out in mass to internment camps like those on the West Coast were, yet they were closer to Japan, more subject to attack by Japan, and formed a larger part of the population than those on the West Coast.

Japanese Americans in Hawaii played a major role in the war, and their enthusiasm was, it seems to me, largely due to the way they were generally treated with respect and as a part of the entire community (with exceptions, like there always are.)

The book starts out by talking about conditions in Hawaii before the attack on Pearl Harbor. There were Japanese Americans in the ROTC and the HTG (Hawaiian Territorial Guard). The author points out that one of the reasons for not evacuating the Hawaiian persons of Japanese ancestry was that it would have tied up far too many resources needed for the prosecution of the war.

The author points out that Japanese Americans on the West Coast formed only about one percent of the population, while in Hawaii they formed about a third. The ones in Hawaii played major roles in the war effort, while the numbers involved on the continental U.S. were smaller, probably because they actually weren't given any opportunities to do much of anything from the internment camps until later in the war.

Also, the Japanese American community was older than the one the mainland, and more integrated into the society as a whole. A lot of this was due to the economic control five major companies had over Hawaii at the time and in it's history.

There's a chapter on the history of Japanese immigration. It also goes into the cultural situation at that time.

The second chapter goes into the time of the 1920s. This was a rough time for the Japanese immigrants.

1. 1922 Supreme Court decision in the case of Takao Ozawa. Prevented Japanese immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens.

2. 1922: Cable Act, which revoked U.S. citizenship for any U.S. woman marrying aliens ineligible for naturalization.

3. 454 Hawaiian Issei served in WWI and were naturalized as a reward. Their citizenship was revoked in 1927.

One thing that Hawaiian Japanese did not confront, though, was the alien land laws. Most of the land in Hawaii was already under the control of the five major companies, the territorial government, the federal government, or other corporations. Thus, the immigrants in Hawaii did not have to face all the viciousness behind the anti-alien land laws that the immigrants on the mainland had to deal with.

The public school system in Hawaii had been working to help the Nisei assimilate to both the U.S. and the status quo in Hawaii.

Chapter 3 deals with the 1930s. Another difference in Hawaii seemed to be that a good umber of well-placed non-Japanese people were working to present the best face of the U.S. and its ideals. On the mainland, most of the high-profile people on the West Coast were actively working to drive out the Japanese.

Chapter 4 deals with Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. In Hawaii, the military declared martial law and had a very strict control of much of what went on in Hawaii. There was also a major push to include the Japanese Americans in efforts to help out with the war effort. This helped to make them feel part of a team (sort of), whereas the persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast knew that they were not wanted as part of any team. They were just wanted gone.

Chapter 5 deals with the Hawaii Territorial Guard. The issue of Japanese Americans in the military effort was sort of complex and not entirely positive. There was concern, of course, about how the non-Japanese would react to the Japanese. There was a Morale Division established to target the persons of Japanese ancestry.

Chapter 6 is about the Varsity Victory Volunteers, a group of Japanese American men that were attached to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They ended up doing a rather wide variety of jobs, from painting to building field iceboxes to quarrying rocks, and even serving as cooks. One group made intricate models of planes to help plane spotters.

The group was also seen by others in relation to post-war Hawaii. If the group did good and brought honor to the Japanese Americans on the island, then the post-war integration of the society could continue pretty smoothly.

It's interesting to know that the U.S. effort to get Nisei to volunteer for the military (when that was finally allowed) had great success in Hawaii. The goal was 1,500 volunteers from Hawaii, and 3,000 from the mainland internment camps. Some 10,000 volunteered from Hawaii, and only 1,000 from the camps.

It goes to show you that how you treat people can make a major difference

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Chapter 8 deals with the Nisei in the military, and chapter 9 covers the time after the war was over.

The book spends a lot of time talking about various specific individuals.



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