8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
1/37
A Comparative Study ofBiographies: Ben Kurokiand Edgar Wakayama, War
Veterans
BISTA KrishnaFENG Shu
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
2/37
Ben Kuroki: Shame, Honor, andDuty
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
3/37
Ben Kuroki: Early Life
Born on May 16, 1917 in Nebraska, U.S. toJapanese-American immigrants
Attended Hershey High School & became
Vice-President of his senior classGraduated from high school in 1936 at the
age of 19
Father encouraged to enlist in the U.S.Military in 1941
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
4/37
Ben Kuroki: Military Career
1940 Sept: 3,500Nisei drafted to thewar
operation
1942 Jan: Firstmilitary training at
Sheppard Field,Texas
1942 Aug: Assigned tothe 93rdBombardment Group
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
5/37
Historical Facts
1868The 14th Amendment of citizenship inthe U.S. Constitution
1870 Asians or "aliens ineligible for
citizenship (Congress), discriminationagainst the Nssei
1890The first Japanese immigrants arrive inthe U.S.
1924 Immigration Act -"ineligible tocitizenship
1930Japanese American Citizens
League(JACL) Nisei can belong.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
6/37
In the aftermath of PearlHarbor
1941 August JACL appointsMike Masaoka as its
national spokesman.
December 7 The Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor
Mike Masaoka is picked upby the FBI in Nebraska.
The FBI arrests 1,300 Nsseileaders identified as
dangerous enemy aliens.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
7/37
Historical Facts: Contd
1942 Jan 5 All Nisei draft reclassified ormade aliens ineligible . Assigned menialduties.
Feb 19 : President Roosevelt signedExecutive Order (forced exclusion on thebasis of race)
March through August: On the WestCoast, more than110,000 Japanese
Americans are expelled from their homes
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
8/37
In 1942
June 6 The Battle of Midway: the U.S. Navysinks four of the aircraft carriers that
attacked Pearl Harbor. (developed cold
relation)Mid-summer Heart Mountain, Wyoming &9 other American-style concentrationcamps enclosed with barbed wire
December 6 Rioters at Manzanar seekout JACL leaders. The camp policestation shoot into the crowd, killing two
and wounding nine.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
9/37
The War- Same & Guilt
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
10/37
Kuroki was
Assigned to the 93rdBombardment Group inFlorida . told that Japanese-Americans would notserve overseas. a clerk for the Eighth
Air Force at a base inEngland in 1942. was sent to gunneryschool & became a tail
gunner on a B-24
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
11/37
When Ben was in mission
B-24 crashed & landed inSpanish Morocco and wascaptured by Spanishauthorities
participated in OperationTidal Wave, Romania (Aug1, 1943)
flew 30 combat missions inthe European theater
flew 5 more missions for hisbrother Fred
Injured in the battle andsent back to home in
Nebraska in 1944
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
12/37
Kuroki
During rest & recovery,visited Japanese Americaninternment camps in orderto encourage able-bodiedmales to enlist in the U.S.
military
joined the crew of a B-29Superfortress (Sad Sakiafter Kuroki) 20th U.S. Army
Air Force, based on TinianIsland
Kuroki participated inanother 28 bombing
missions over mainlandJapan
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
13/37
Historical Facts Contd
1943February 1 The War Departmentchanges the Nisei's 4-C draft classificationto 1-A
February 3 the civilian agency takes the
same Army questionnaire, and compelsevery man and woman in camp to answerit.
August 1 Sgt. Ben Kuroki flies on bombingof
oil refineries at Ploesti, Rumania.
August 21 the first group of Nisei soldiers
to
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
14/37
Ben Kuroki
1944 April 24 Sgt. Ben Kuroki starts week-long visit toHeartMountain to boost recruitment anddiscourage draft resistance.
June 26 The Nisei soldiers of the 442nd RCT and 100thBattalion first engage the enemy in Italy.
December 17 President Roosevelt ends the exclusion of
Japanese Americans from the West Coast, allowing JapaneseAmerica to go home.
December 18 U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Endo casethat
loyal citizens cannot be detained against their will.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
15/37
Advocacy efforts by BenKuroki
Encouraged fellow being to participate in thewar
Addressed tension between national security& civil liberty
spoke about the need for racial equality andagainst prejudice
engaged in a series of speaking toursdiscussing these issues
Kuroki stated, "I had to fight like hell for the
right to fight for my own country".
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
16/37
Inequalities he witnessed
4000 Japanese descents were deniedacademic admittance
Japanese American resided outside the states
of California, Oregon and Washington were notsubject to internment
They were victims of resentment, suspicionand discrimination in the war time
While in the Army Air Corps barracks at Tinian, henearly lost his life in July 1945 when a drunkensquadron member shouted "Tojo and Kuroki...damned
Japs" and stabbed him with an Army-issue knife.Master sergeant Russell Olsen of New York stepped
between the assailant and Kuroki, who was thentaken to the hospital for two dozen stitches to his
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
17/37
Historical Facts: Contd
1945 August 11 Japan surrenders & World War IIformally ends.
1947 December 24 President Harry S. Trumanpardons all wartime draft resisters, including the Nisei
resisters from Heart Mountain and other camps.1988 August 10 President Ronald Reagan signs intolaw the Civil Liberties Act, which provides for aformal apology by the government and redress of
$20,000 to each survivor of incarceration underExecutive Order 9066. By this time nearly half ofthose who had been imprisoned had died.
In Japan, women were also given the right to vote for
the first time in its history after war.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
18/37
Ben Kuroki: Voices
"Not only did I go to war tofight the fascist ideas ofGermany and Japan but also tofight against a few Americanswho fail to understand theprinciples of freedom andequality upon which thiscountry wasfounded.(October 29, 1946)
During a nationwide radiobroadcast of American Town
Meeting of the Air onNovember 22nd 2005 , "I'vegot one more mission to go.
There is still the fight againstprejudice and race hatred. I
call it my 59th mission, and Ihave a hunch I won't be
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
19/37
Ben Kuroki: Post War Life
met his future wife Shige Tanabe in Idaho,married August 9, 1946 at Pocatello.
attended the University of Nebraska,attaining a Bachelor's degree in journalism
in 1950.Started a journalistic venture in 1952 as a
reporter and editor, retired in 1984.
awarded the Distinguished Service Medal forhis impressive combat participation duringthe war and for overcoming numerousincidents of prejudice on August 12, 2005.
awarded an honorary Doctorate from theUniversity of Nebraska on August 13, 2005
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
20/37
Awards
Distinguished FlyingCrossa total of threetimes
completed 58 missions in
air combat & rank ofTechnical Sergeant.
Air Medal with five oakleaf clusters
A "best editorial" awardfrom the MichiganPress Association
An honorary doctoratedegree (the University of
Nebraska)
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
21/37
Video Links
The Japanese American Internmentof World War II (http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq
)Manzanar (http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=vP
)
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqmx2XhHxeYhttp://de.youtube.com/watch?v=vPBe1NqwqYQ&feature=relatedhttp://de.youtube.com/watch?v=vPBe1NqwqYQ&feature=relatedhttp://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqmx2XhHxeY8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
22/37
Ed Wakayama
born in Manzanar on March22,1943
Schooling in Japan:Elementary to High School
Returned to the US in 1962 &entered Northeastern
University in Boston, MA
Drafter in 1967 after
graduation and servedduring the Vietnam War until1970
His biggest fear -history
repeating itself
Baby Wakayama with his
parents
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
23/37
Manzanar: War RelocationCenter
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
24/37
Life in Manzanar:
uncomfortable, cramped,dull.
internees lived in military-style barracks,
Privacy was a majorproblem,
Dust flew through thecracks in the woodenwalls.
the camps had no schools
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
25/37
Manzanar National HistoricSite
"There were 10,000 people here;there are 10,000 stories to betold.Ed Wakayama tells,The United States was alsoat war with Germany and Italy;why werent GermanAmericans and ItalianAmericans imprisoned,too?The answer is simple . . .money and prejudice.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
26/37
the Manzanar CemetaryNow, Manzanar Pilgrimage
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
27/37
At Manzanar RelocationCenter
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
28/37
Ed Wakayamas father
was jailed for translating campmaterials into Japanese
forced to sign away his U.S. citizenship
at the point of a gunobliged to move back to Japan
lived in Hiroshima and all wiped out by
the atomic bomb
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
29/37
Now Wakayama is
a decorated Armycolonel
reside in Richmond,VA 65,
educated atNortheasternUniversity
expert on Japaneseinternment and civilrights
a passionate
message forAmerica: Learn
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
30/37
the events of 9/11, 2001
was working in the Pentagon not far fromwhere American Airlines Flight 77 hit, at
9:38.
went back into the burning building twice,leading and calling people out of the
smoky darkness to safety.
Wakayama stayed until 9 that night,
caring for those in shock.spent hours more answering dozens ofphone messages from worried family andfriends.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
31/37
Soldier's Medal from TomChristie
Col. J. Edgar Wakayama with
Army's highest for noncombatant heroism.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
32/37
Career and Education
His Career:Manager, Research for the DepartmentsDefense and Homeland SecurityProfessor at Medical College of Virginia
Richmond, VAClinical Laboratory Officer , A Biochemist andA Nuclear Medical Science OfficerColonel U.S. ArmyClinical Laboratory Officer U.S. Army
Education:bachelor, biology and medical technologymaster, clinical chemistryUniversity of Oregondoctorate, biochemistry,University of Nevada *
http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/CompanyDetail.aspx?CompanyID=24363736&cs=QFBc8LYFIhttp://www.zoominfo.com/Search/CompanyDetail.aspx?CompanyID=24363736&cs=QFBc8LYFI8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
33/37
Now Ed Wakayama
Conducts researchat Georgia TechResearch Institute,
for the
departments ofDefense andHomelandSecurity.
visits schools totalk about the
Japaneseinternment.
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
34/37
Comparison: Keroki &Wakayama
Born in the U.S. from AmericanJapanese parents
Both served in the U.S. military
Both faced the social discrimination andinjustices
Wakayama was a baby when Kuroki
was in aerial combatmentBoth are the best examples of successin life though they have high adversity
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
35/37
Bibliography
Feldscher, Karen, "The Patriot - Colonel Ed Wakayama's Long
Road from Manzanar", Northeastern University Magazine(March 2004), 24-32.Edds, Kimberly "New Museum Revives Painful Memories forInternees", Washington Post, 26 April 2004, p. A03.Hymon Steve "Finally, Sharing Manzanar's Bitter Tale", LosAngeles Times, 25 April 2004, p. 1.
Manzanar National Historic Site web site, National ParkService. http://www.nps.gov/manz/.The War Relocation Camps of World War II: When Fear wasStronger than Justice, a National Park Service TeachingLesson.http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/8
9manzanar.htm.The news source for the Manzanar Committee Online,http://www.manzanarcommittee.org/.Twenty-one Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal ofHonor. Department of Defense, News Items, May 19, 2000,http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2000/n05192000_20005
191.html.Hebert Bob "Stories From the Inside" New York Times
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
36/37
Contd
Kral, E.A. (2006). "Profile: Ben Kuroki". Nebraska StateEducation Association. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.http://www.nsea.org/news/KurokiProfile.htm
Frank, Abe (2000). "Ben Kuroki". Conscience and theConstitution. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved on
2007-08-06.
"Ben Kuroki, American". Time. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
"Nebraska WWII Hero Ben Kuroki to be Honored atPremiere of NET Television" (pdf). NET Nebraska (2007-06-28). Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
"Proud to be Ben Kuroki's kind of people", Journal Star(2007-08-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
Nelson, K. Nebraskan hero Ben Kuroki meets with Bushhttp://www.nebraskalife.com/BenKuroki.asp
8/14/2019 Ben Kuroki and Ed Wakayama: Comparative Study
37/37
Especial thanks to
Dr. Davidson, our Guru
And our classmates
The guest