Professor of History Vern Takeshita described the untold bravery and loyalty of Asian Americans who fought for the United States in World War II in a presentation to a group of Dartmouth students, faculty and locals last night in Rockefeller Center.
Takeshita said his lecture, entitled "Hidden But Not Forgotten: East Asian American Soldiers During WWII," was spurred by the recent release of "Pearl Harbor," a movie panned by many critics for its lack of character depth and diversity.
All of the main characters in the movie are Caucasian except one -- an African American cook played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Takeshita emphasized that Asian Americans, too, made valuable contributions to America's war effort as decorated soldiers, officers, spies, translators and others -- contributions that have been slighted by historians and mainstream storytelling about the war.
While historical accuracy may not have been Walt Disney Pictures' top priority in the making of "Pearl Harbor," Takeshita said that a more balanced depiction of the war would have been more inclusive of the many ethnic groups in America.
"World War II, because it's a popular war, has not been subject to that kind of scrutiny," he said.
In fact, a number of U.S. military battalions in World War II were comprised entirely of Asian Americans or African-Americans, which should be acknowledged in depictions of World War II, Takeshita said.
Another selective aspect of American memory, Takashita said, is the idea that Hawaii was not entirely U.S. soil at the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing.
In fact, though it was a U.S. territory, Hawaii was not a state until more than a decade after the war was finished.
And even then, Hawaii attained statehood for business interests and not because of popular sentiment, he added.
While some Japanese Americans were resentful of the internment of their relatives or themselves, others were eager to join the war effort to solidify their standing as full-fledged, accepted Americans, Takeshita explained.
An additional 120,000 Japanese Americans, however, were imprisoned in so-called "internment camps" during the war.
Examining the role of Chinese Americans in the war, Takeshita explained that they were treated differently than other Asian Americans, in part because the nationalist China was an ally of the United States.
As a result, many Chinese Americans were integrated into standard military units, instead of restricted to segregated Asian units.
However, about 7,000 of the 22,000 total Chinese Americans who served in the United States military were not U.S. citizens because of laws making it difficult for Chinese immigrants to become naturalized.
For all Asian American soldiers, having the "face of the enemy" led to numerous problems -- from having their loyalty continually questioned to being denied medical care because of assumptions that they were not American.
Given a chance to shine, Asian divisions such as the 442nd and 100th battalions racked up stunning performance records, gaining respect, he said.
"Pearl Harbor," Takeshita concluded, is guilty of "racializing the battles," and failed, to adequately portray the complex and multifaceted role of Asian Americans in World War II.
The history of all Americans in war should be told, Takeshita said, and "movies like 'Pearl Harbor' don't make it easier."
