Take a moment to remember what this day meant for America: December 7. It set in motion the events that led to our entry into World War II.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this on my blog yet, but my family is actually from Hawaii. As a result, Pearl Harbor Day is always marked in my house. My grandfather, who still lives in Hawaii, once told me the story of what happened that day.
The Japanese launched their attack on Sunday morning. My grandfather, who is Chinese, had no idea what was happening. He and his brother tried to walk to church that day, and they were ordered by US servicemen to return home. They were still confused until they got home and heard what had happened. Typical grandpa...somewhat clueless and just going with the flow.
My grandmother's story is different. She is Japanese, and the response her family had was to start hiding pictures that connected them to Japan. As you know, Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were soon forced into camps. Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii were largely exempt from this because the USA recognized that detaining all the Japanese-Americans in Hawaii would mean economic collapse.
However, the US still searched the homes of many Japanese-Americans to see if they had an connections to Japan. My grandmother was first generation, so she had to hide all her mother's pictures of the Japanese family/home. The most incriminating photo that needed to be hidden was the photo of her uncle, who was an Admiral in the Japanese Navy. The pictures were hidden in a cookie tin, and the inspecting soldiers never found them, thus saving my grandmother from the camps.
I think the unique thing about America is how it can bring people together with a love for this land. My grandmother and grandfather would later marry, even though they came from different backgrounds, and that marriage would take place in the nation that sought to imprison her. And here I am, their descendant, living as as an openly gay American who is proud of his country.
9 comments:
Bravo. Well said, as usual :)
Progress is possible, as your family story shows.
Unfortunately regression is also possible, so we have to try to keep things going in the right direction.
Also, Japan and China were at war at the time. A Chinese man marrying a Japanese woman at the time, most unusual.
What an honorable heritage, certainly. I begin to understand what drives you to succeed in all things.
I know the actions Roosevelt took against Japanese-Americans were condemned in peacetime, but in fairness to him (and to Lincoln, who suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War), we almost had to declare martial law, we effectively had it in Hawaii. After Pearl Harbor much of the Pacific fleet was sunk, and the fear of a a west coast homeland invasion was high. Only the extraordinary early victory at Midway reversed Japan's fortunes. That is why some historians believe Midway to have been the greatest battle in history.
Amazing... Your family has a great history and a lot of touch...
On a lighter note, I have learned something about your background today.
Jason is 1/4th Japanese + 1/4th Chinese + 1/2 Caucasian
(correct me, if I am wrong). However, I must say that your asian background did not give you dominant asian facial features. So one might not guess your background right the first time.
Jason
Unfortntely at times of war this mnation as overeacted. And itsa gret nation tht is governed by laws
take care and be safe
bob
Interesting family history. :-)
While I disagree that the uniqueness you mentioned is strictly American, it probably does occur at a higher frequency in the US.
I think it can be said that our own histories can teach us a lot about how to proceed into the future. Probably no one and certainly no country has an untainted past, it's what happens next that matters. And thus, I try to temper pride with reflective criticism.
Fascinating story about your grandparents... I'd love to hear some of their stories about that!
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