“American [but] Second Class” | Japanese-American US Soldier Don Shimazu | USC Shoah Foundation
Author: USC Shoah Foundation via YouTube
Go to Source
“We were American citizens, but […] we became aware that we were a little bit second class…”
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. The Order sanctioned the removal of all persons considered a threat to American national security to “relocation centers”, resulting in the incarceration of Japanese-Americans.
In 1943, Japanese-American Don Shimazu joined the US Army to prove his loyalty to the United States. Despite his heroic service, Don continued to experience discrimination as a Japanese-American. In his testimony, Don discusses the complexities of being Japanese-American while Japan and America were at war, and his family’s reaction to his voluntary involvement.
You can watch Don’s full testimony at https://youtu.be/hVJUwYsWqjk
Learn more about USC Shoah Foundation: https://sfi.usc.edu/
SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/USCShoahFoundation/?sub_confirmation=1
Connect with USC Shoah Foundation:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USCSFI
Twitter: https://twitter.com/USCShoahFdn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uscshoahfoundation/
IWitness: http://iwitness.usc.edu/SFI/
Website: https://sfi.usc.edu/
About USC Shoah Foundation:
USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education develops
empathy, understanding and respect through testimony, using its Visual History Archive of more than 55,000 video testimonies, academic programs and partnerships across USC and 170 universities, and award-winning IWitness education program. USC Shoah Foundation’s interactive programming, research and materials are accessed in museums and universities, cited by government leaders and NGOs, and taught in classrooms around the world. Now in its third decade, USC Shoah Foundation reaches millions of people on six continents from its home at the University of Southern California.
Copyright USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education
#worldwarii #donshimazu #japaneseamerican #uscshoahfoundation #ussoldier