Craig Yahata article (Daily Titan)
Japanese-American veterans share experiences of WWII
Documentary captures stories of civilians and controversial Nisei
Joseph Santos
Daily Titan Staff
Monday, April 18, 2005
From the Holocaust to Pearl Harbor, events during World War II are widely discussed in high school and college history classes. Students are taught that the Germans, along with the Japanese, were enemies of America. What is rarely discussed are the Nisei, the second generation Japanese-Americans who fought for our country during the war.
“A Tradition of Honor,” a documentary produced by the Go For Broke Foundation and directed by Craig Yahata, focuses on the experiences and stories of the Nisei soldiers who fought during World War II.
The documentary is composed of interviews with various Japanese-Americans, from soldiers to civilians, who experienced different events during the war.
“Our goal was to capture their stories through their interviews,” Yahata said. “We had 150 interviews and 45 of them were in the video.”
The film also documents the activities of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service. These armies of Nisei soldiers – who were looked at as the enemy by many Americans – fought for this country and their honor. Yahata made the film after learning that his uncle was in the 100th Battalion.
“It wasn’t until college that I realized there was more to this story,” Yahata said. “It was a discovery of information I had no idea about.”
After spawning the idea of making the documentary, Yahata and the foundation contacted veterans for the interviews with the help of the Hanashi Oral History Program.
“We did interviews in Hawaii, Northern California, Los Angeles and Las Vegas,” Yahata said. “They talked about their fellow soldiers like they were brothers.”
The film is Yahata’s first feature-length documentary and served as a learning experience for not only its viewers, but for himself as well, he said. Meeting veterans that knew his uncle educated Yahata not only about the war, but also about what his own relative was like.
“I really got into this to learn about my heritage,” he said.
The documentary was screened April 14 at the Ruby Gerontology Center as part of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“I thought it was a very well put together documentary,” said Susan Uyemura, the gerontology project coordinator.
“I think it [the story] needs to be told, I would like to see more classes teach about it.”
Although some of the information in the film was well-known to viewers at the screening, it was apparent that there was still more to learn.
“It’s really eye-opening to me; what this group went through,” said Dane Van Oort, a junior graphic design major, “It seemed like they were so dedicated to prove that they were loyal to America.”
The overall meaning of the documentary is that students should keep in mind that the history of World War II is more than the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor, it also about the people that fought for what they believed in to make our country and world what it is today, Yahata said. “I think it’s important not to forget where we came from.”
Documentary captures stories of civilians and controversial Nisei
Joseph Santos
Daily Titan Staff
Monday, April 18, 2005
From the Holocaust to Pearl Harbor, events during World War II are widely discussed in high school and college history classes. Students are taught that the Germans, along with the Japanese, were enemies of America. What is rarely discussed are the Nisei, the second generation Japanese-Americans who fought for our country during the war.
“A Tradition of Honor,” a documentary produced by the Go For Broke Foundation and directed by Craig Yahata, focuses on the experiences and stories of the Nisei soldiers who fought during World War II.
The documentary is composed of interviews with various Japanese-Americans, from soldiers to civilians, who experienced different events during the war.
“Our goal was to capture their stories through their interviews,” Yahata said. “We had 150 interviews and 45 of them were in the video.”
The film also documents the activities of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service. These armies of Nisei soldiers – who were looked at as the enemy by many Americans – fought for this country and their honor. Yahata made the film after learning that his uncle was in the 100th Battalion.
“It wasn’t until college that I realized there was more to this story,” Yahata said. “It was a discovery of information I had no idea about.”
After spawning the idea of making the documentary, Yahata and the foundation contacted veterans for the interviews with the help of the Hanashi Oral History Program.
“We did interviews in Hawaii, Northern California, Los Angeles and Las Vegas,” Yahata said. “They talked about their fellow soldiers like they were brothers.”
The film is Yahata’s first feature-length documentary and served as a learning experience for not only its viewers, but for himself as well, he said. Meeting veterans that knew his uncle educated Yahata not only about the war, but also about what his own relative was like.
“I really got into this to learn about my heritage,” he said.
The documentary was screened April 14 at the Ruby Gerontology Center as part of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“I thought it was a very well put together documentary,” said Susan Uyemura, the gerontology project coordinator.
“I think it [the story] needs to be told, I would like to see more classes teach about it.”
Although some of the information in the film was well-known to viewers at the screening, it was apparent that there was still more to learn.
“It’s really eye-opening to me; what this group went through,” said Dane Van Oort, a junior graphic design major, “It seemed like they were so dedicated to prove that they were loyal to America.”
The overall meaning of the documentary is that students should keep in mind that the history of World War II is more than the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor, it also about the people that fought for what they believed in to make our country and world what it is today, Yahata said. “I think it’s important not to forget where we came from.”
posted by blurp2000 at 2:04 AM
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