Taking a Stand
More than 300 men of Japanese descent refused U.S. government orders to enter the military in the 1940s. Only in recent years have these men gained recognition for their actions.
By Lydia Lum
Every December, the nation pauses to remember Pearl Harbor, the site of the 1941 Japanese surprise attack that propelled the United States into World War II. Now, as the GI generation fades away, the stories of their battlefield accomplishments live on.
But for another group of Americans, it has taken more than half a century to begin to gain recognition for their wartime actions and decisions. Controversial and divisive at the time, this group is still generating debate in the context of the post-Sept. 11 climate and the Iraq War.
More than 300 men of Japanese descent refused to be drafted into the U.S. military in the 1940s, contending that they shouldn’t risk their lives for a country that had forced 120,000 Japanese-Americans, including them and their families, into internment camps. They would be willing to fight in World War II only after Japanese-Americans were released from the camps, they said.
