Another movie with Junior. #GoForBroke
The inevitable question: “Appa, what’s a relocation camp?” Then, after I told him, “why would anyone volunteer for the Army if the country sent their family to a camp like that?” Great questions, bud.
Another question that needed answering: the relationship between the 100th & their (in many cases, literally) younger brothers in the 442nd when they linked up outside Civitavecchia.
One of the things I always disliked about this film was the portrayal of COL Charles Pence, the 442nd’s CO as the paternalistic white man, but I also understand the role & attitude were products of their time.
The 442nd arrives in France. Fateful that the Four Four Deuce was opcon to the T-Patchers after fighting with the Red Bulls for almost a year. That JE Dahlquist’s name isn’t dragged through the mud as a butcher more often is galling.
Leave it to a battalion of Texans to find themselves lost & surrounded by 2 Wehrmacht infantry regiments.
A lot to unpack for Junior, who only recently learned about the existence of the 100th Bn & 442nd RCT from me. We discussed institutional racism, & how those men paved the way for so much necessary change, like Truman’s EO desegregating the military.
Me: Does knowing about anti-Asian racism sting because the characters in the film look like us?
Jr: well, yeah, it sucks, more people should’ve fought against it
If that’s the lesson he gleans from this film, I’ll gladly take it.
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