You are hereAuthor Event: Linda Tamura - Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence
Author Event: Linda Tamura - Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence
Linda Tamura author of
Nisei Soldiers Break Their SIlence
Sat., Sept. 15th , 2:00pm
at the Hood River County History Museum
Waucoma Bookstore and the Hood River County History Museum are hosting author Linda Tamura for a reading & discussion on Saturday, Sept. 15th at 2pm at the Hood River County History Museum. Tamura will be discussing her new book Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence.
About the Book
Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence is a compelling story of courage, community, endurance, and reparation. It shares the experiences of Japanese Americans (Nisei) who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, fighting on the front lines in Italy and France, serving as linguists in the South Pacific, and working as cooks and medics. The soldiers were from Hood River, Oregon, where their families were landowners and fruit growers. Town leaders, including veterans' groups, attempted to prevent their return after the war and stripped their names from the local war memorial. All of the soldiers were American citizens, but their parents were Japanese immigrants and had been imprisoned in camps as a consequence of Executive Order 9066. The racist homecoming reception that the Hood River Japanese American soldiers received was decried across the nation.
Linda Tamura, who grew up in Hood River and whose father was a veteran of the war, conducted extensive oral histories with the veterans, their families, and members of the community. She had access to hundreds of recently uncovered letters and documents from private files of a local veterans' group that led the campaign against the Japanese American soldiers. This book also includes the little known story of local Nisei veterans who spent 40 years appealing their convictions for insubordination.
Watch the book trailer
About the Author
Linda Tamura is professor of education at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She is the author of The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon's Hood River Valley.
"An important book about significant wartime events, a group of heroic World War II veterans, and the anguished experience of a community coming to grips with its own social sins. It is a superb oral history, a compelling community history, and a cautionary story about what happens when a democracy goes to war." - William L. Lang, Portland State University
"Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence speaks to contemporary concerns about multiculturalism and diversity with an absorbing and powerful story that encompasses both U.S. military and civilian life and strategically links the past with the present in a manner that vivifies what William Faulkner meant when he said that 'the past is not dead, it is not even past.'" - Arthur A. Hansen, Professor Emeritus of History and Asian American Studies, California State University, Fullerton
History Museum Renovation - Sneak Peek
The museum
has been closed since last November to complete a major Phase I
renovation project. While the construction portion of the project is
complete, the museum staff and volunteers are still working on design
and installation of all new exhibits and displays. One of the new
featured areas of the exhibits will be a mini-theatre and exhibit
featuring the story of the Japanese families in the Hood River Valley.
This book signing is a great way to get a sneak peak at the new facility
and see the progress on the new exhibits. The museum will be open to
the public again in Friday, October 19th and a full grand opening
scheduled for next spring. To learn more about The History Museum, check
out the museum website at www.co.hood-river.or.us/museum
- Street:
- The Hood River County History Museum
- Additional:
- 300 E Marina Way
- City:
- Hood River ,
- Province:
- Oregon
- Postal Code:
- 97031
- Country:
- United States
