Fighting For Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II [Hardcover]

Michael L. Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

A stirring account of Japanese Americans in World War II, based mainly on diaries, autobiographies, and the military records of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was known as the Purple Heart Battalion because of its bravery. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, all people on the West Coast of Japanese heritage, whether resident aliens or citizens, were forced to move into internment camps. But 1,200 young men from the camps, along with 10,000 other GIs of Japanese heritage, became some of the most decorated soldiers in the war as part of the 442nd. Author Michel L. Cooper tells of the remarkable bravery of these Nisei soldiers, whose heroism in battles in Europe contrasted with the prejudice that Japanese Americans faced at home. Chronology, end notes, suggestions for further research, index.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-This explanation of the unfair circumstances and incredible heroism of first- and second-generation Japanese Americans during World War II is similar in tone and format to Jerry Stanley's I Am an American (Crown, 1994). What distinguishes Cooper's effort is the more extensive, descriptive, and sometimes grisly attention given to these soldiers' contributions to the military conflict in Europe. As an example, the Japanese Americans who served in the 100th/442nd battalion became "the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history" at a time when most of their families had been forcibly removed from their homes and businesses in Washington, Oregon, and California. Cooper begins with a strong first chapter that establishes the extent of the American prejudice against these citizens and the post-Pearl Harbor hysteria that led to the establishment of the War Relocation Authority. The author then questions why this happened and responds with solid cause and effect examples, utilizing relevant archival photographs of these "barbed wire communities." On the war front, the descriptions of individual acts of bravery in Europe are drawn from first-person accounts and other sources, and while the geography is not introduced well, the battles' objectives, actions, and results are clear.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-12. "They changed my army status to 4C [ineligible] because of my ancestry, ran me out of town, and now they want me to volunteer for a suicide squad so I could get killed for this damned democracy." Cooper captures the dichotomy of the U.S. government's attitude toward Japanese Americans during World War II. Bolstered by evidence of the anti-Asian sentiments that greeted the first immigrants, the author takes readers from the raid on Pearl Harbor to the trains bound for the internment camps to the hard-won victories of the all-Asian 100th Infantry Battalion. His description of life in the camps is vivid, and the battlefield accounts are graphic and dramatic. Both are enlivened with first-person testimony. The straightforward narrative is illustrated with numerous black-and-white photos and appended with a map of the relocation camps, a chronology, notes, and a bibliography. Randy Meyer
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (October 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395913756
• ISBN-13: 978-0395913758
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael L. Cooper is a writer living in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information about him and his books visit michaellcooper.com. Thanks. MLC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II, January 8, 2001

By 

Rozina Thomas (Annapolis, Md. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting For Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II (Hardcover)

Michael Cooper's book "Fighting for Honor" provides insight into the treatment of Japanese Americans before, during and after World War II. The status and treatment of Asians in the U.S. and especially on the West coast is discussed in the early portion of the book. As for other portions of the book, this should be educational for children not familiar with the history of that time. Mr. Cooper does an excellent job in describing the resettlement of Japanese Americans at the beginning of the war along with a map showing the War Relocation Authority Camps. Throughout the book, Mr. Cooper attemps to describe the thinking and mood of the Japanese Americans. There are good examples of the exploits of Japanese American soldiers fighting for the U.S. during the war and a sad chapter describing the welcome the troops received after returning from the war. Throughout the book there are very good photographs illustrating the subject being discussed. This is an excellent history book for children describing the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable lessons, August 22, 2009

By 

Kcirtap (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fighting For Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II (Hardcover)

I got my son this book as part of required reading for school. He found it informative and moderately interesting, reading it in about 2 days easily. Most of it is about the wartime service of Japanese Americans, and it also addresses the mistreatment they received in the states. I hope he can apply lessons learned about discrimination later in life.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fighting for Honor, February 2, 2011

By 

D. Pierce - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighting For Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book. It gives a good perspective of some of what the Japanese Americans experienced during World War II while living in America. The perspective is from many sides. Well written.