Not exactly our finest moment as a country
- This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire West Coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in government camps. Approximately 5,000 Japanese Americans voluntarily relocated outside the exclusion zone before March 1942, and some 5,500 community leaders arrested after the Pearl Harbor attack were already in custody. But, the majority of nearly 130,000 mainland Japanese Americans were evacuated (forcibly relocated) from their West Coast homes during the spring of 1942.
Adding to the shame of this order and the way these Americans were treated, many of the sons of those unjustly interned went on to join the war effort and fought beyond bravely in a single division made up of Japanese.
- The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare. The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (5 earned in one month). Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor. Its motto was "Go for Broke".
Check out this pic: Interned Japanese Americans celebrate New Year's Eve. Topaz, Utah, 1944 Notice how some do not even appear to be Asian? Turns out those who were as little as 1/16 Japanese could be placed in internment camps. Senator Daniel Inouye was a member of the 442nd and was one of the Medal of Honor recipients in addition to his Bronze Star, Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross, Here is a picture of Inouye and Bob Dole recovering at the same Vet's hospital.
I was listening to the radio today and heard about Africville, in Nova Scotia. Not MY country's greatest moment either, though not anywhere near as bad as the Residential Schools.