One Family’s Story from an Internment Camp; Remembering Contributions of Nisei Veterans; Tales of the 442nd Infantry Regiment
Experiences in a WWII Japanese Internment: Tomo Izumi
On the night of Dec 7, 1941 Tomo Izumi was 8 years old and asleep along with her 5 siblings in the family’s home in Laupahoehoe. But it was not to be a night of sound sleep. Awakened by her father, a Buddhist minister, she and her family watched as he performed his own funeral. He believed he would be shot after being taken away that night. Now 83, Tomo Izumi wants everyone to know what really happened to the family and about a type of internment camp few know existed.
Intro Music: 12/7/1941 CBS News Report from John Vandercock
Outro Music: I Wish I Was Sober by Frightened Rabbit
Nisei Veterans Memorial Center: Deidre Tegarden
In many ways, America’s military was caught flat-footed by the Pearl Harbor attack. Gathering intelligence about the Japanese Empire and monitoring its radio transmissions became an immediate priority in its aftermath. Only recently have historians been able to tell us much about the accomplishments of Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service, whose language skills were essential to the conduct of the War in the Pacific. The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center’s exhibit: MIS: America’s Secret Weapon is a revelation to most of us.
Intro Music: Bring Your Adz by Jake Shimabukuro
Outro Music: 143 (Kelly's Song) 2011 by Jake Shimabukuro
Civil Beat Reality Check: The Fishing Industry Goes to Washington
A Capitol Hill forum on the fishing industry this week brought blistering criticism from Hawaii and mainland activists. With what emerged as the reality check, Civil Beat reporter Chad Blair joins us now.
Intro Music: All Of Your Love by The Rolling Stones
Outro Music: Honor by Hans Zimmer
Tales of the 442nd: William Thompson
In December of 1941, William Thompson was a young man recently out of high school and working in a Hilo gas station. He later entered the 442nd Regimental Combat Team created by the Roosevelt Administration for American citizens of Japanese ancestry. It became one of the most decorated units of its size in history. Today William Thompson is one of its few survivors. We have talked over the past few years but until we sat down this week, had never shared the story of how he went from a kid working at that Hilo gas station with no radio on an infamous day.
Outro Music: Theme from the HBO Miniseries 'Band of Brothers'
Marine and Former Iranian Hostage: Rocky Sickmann
One of the attendees at today’s Pearl Harbor ceremonies is Rocky Sickmann, who was serving as a U.S. Marine at the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979, and was among the 52 Americans taken hostage for 444 days. The Iran Hostage Crisis was front-page news for more than a year, but it’s perhaps too little remembered these days. Rocky’s story of his ordeal is a reminder of the reasons we should never forget the sacrifices that put us where we are today.
Intro Music: Casualties of War by Christopher Lennertz
Outro Music: At Dawn They Slept by Jay Bocook
