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Title details for Just Americans by Robert Asahina - Available

Just Americans

How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad: The Story of the 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team in World War II

by Robert Asahina
Patrick Lawlor
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A sneak attack by an enemy power leaves thousands of Americans dead. A minority group in America is harassed for its ties to a foreign country. A worldwide conflict tests our resolve in combat abroad and our commitment to justice, equality, and liberty at home... Within months after Pearl Harbor, 110,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly "evacuated" from the West Coast, losing their jobs, their property, and their homes. In less than a year, they were "relocated" and incarcerated in desolate camps throughout the West, Southwest, and South. Yet, incredibly, thousands of young men from the camps joined the Army, to defend the country that had denied them their rights. This is the dramatic story of the segregated Japanese American 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team-and what they did to affirm their full citizenship. As Gen. Jacob L. Devers put it, in World War II the soldiers of the 100th/442d had "more than earned the right to be called just Americans, not Japanese Americans." During the fall of 1944, the combat team made headlines when it rescued the "lost battalion" of the 36th "Texas" Division. At the same time, with the 1944 elections looming, the Roosevelt Administration was debating whether to close the camps. And while the soldiers of the 100th/442d were sacrificing their lives in Europe, the Supreme Court was deciding the infamous Korematsu and Endo cases, which challenged the notion that "military necessity" justified the "relocation." From breathless battle scenes, masterfully handled in all their detail; to the unbreakable bonds of friendship in the field; to heart-wrenching stories of loss and discrimination on the mainland and in Hawaii, Just Americans tells the story of what Gen. George C. Marshall called the "most decorated unit in American military history for its size and length of service." It is also the story of soldiers in combat who were fighting a greater battle at home-a struggle that continues for minority groups today-over what it means to be an American.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 12, 2006

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400122813
      • File size: 297778 KB
      • Duration: 10:20:22

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Robert Asahina's sobering stories of the government's treatment of Japanese- Americans during WW II demonstrate the consequences of unjustified prejudice. His thrilling accounts of the heroism of soldiers of Asian descent fighting in Europe document their struggle for equality and how they changed archaic attitudes. Patrick Lawler's quick and forceful narrative style comes close to a controlled shout, but he never blurs a word. He dutifully formats the hundreds of quotes with pauses, but their frequency makes his delivery sound choppy. His assertive style fits the dozens of shocking battle scenes, and he expresses the audiobook's theme--the struggle of ethnic Americans for equality--with Žlan. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Robert Asahina's sobering stories of the government's treatment of Japanese- Americans during WW II demonstrate the consequences of unjustified prejudice. His thrilling accounts of the heroism of soldiers of Asian descent fighting in Europe document their struggle for equality and how they changed archaic attitudes. Patrick Lawler's quick and forceful narrative style comes close to a controlled shout, but he never blurs a word. He dutifully formats the hundreds of quotes with pauses, but their frequency makes his delivery sound choppy. His assertive style fits the dozens of shocking battle scenes, and he expresses the audiobook's theme--the struggle of ethnic Americans for equality--with élan. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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