Film 'Proof of Loyalty' - Kazuo Yamane and the Nisei Soldiers of Hawai'iNEW

Join Go for Broke National Education Center and the Japanese American National Museum for a film screening and discussion of Proof of Loyalty: Kazuo Yamane and the Nisei Soldiers of Hawai'i.

Date
Saturday, March 31, 2018

Time
2:00 pm

Click here to RSVP
 
With a population that included a significant percentage of persons of Japanese ancestry, the state of Hawaii did not experience the mass incarcerations that Japanese Americans on the West Coast did following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Only a small percentage of the islands' Japanese Americans were sent to prison camps, and large numbers of the state's Nisei volunteered for and served with distinction in the US Army.

The 2017 documentary film Proof of Loyalty tells the compelling story of one of those soldiers, Kazuo Yamane. Educated as a child in Hawaii and eventually graduating from Japan's prestigious Waseda University, Yamane was drafted into the US Army just before the Pearl Harbor attack. With his strong Japanese language skills, he was plucked from the infantry ranks to serve first at the Pentagon, then at a secret facility in northern Maryland, and finally under Eisenhower in Europe. Most importantly, he would identify a secret document that would significantly help America's war in the Pacific.

A Q&A with Lucy Ostrander, one of the two filmmakers behind the film, will follow the screening. Free for JANM and GFBNEC members and included with admission to JANM or GFBNEC. RSVPs are recommended using the link below.

Background
We have had the honor to make many films about the Japanese American experience during World War II but Kazuo Yamane’s story opened up a chapter unknown to us and most Americans. Hawaii, harboring important military facilities and 2500 miles closer to Japan than the West Coast, had a population consisting of nearly 40% Japanese ancestry when Pearl Harbor was bombed in late 1941. But unlike the mass incarcerations on the mainland only a small percentage of Japanese Americans were confined in Hawaii. The Nisei, the second generation American citizens, volunteered in massive numbers from Hawaii to serve in the US Army, both in combat and as intelligence personnel. And of all their exceptional heroics and important service, none had a more unusual and interesting war than Kazuo Yamane.

Kazuo Yamane, first educated in the discriminatory Hawaiian school system, and eventually graduating from Waseda University, the Harvard of Japan, was drafted into the US Army just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Plucked from the infantry ranks for his exceptional knowledge of Japanese, he would serve at the Pentagon, then a secret facility in northern Maryland, and finally under Eisenhower in Europe. Most importantly, he would identify a secret document that would significantly help America’s war in the Pacific.

The absolute loyalty of the Nisei soldiers in World War II, despite discrimination and incarceration provides an insight for us today. These American citizens protected their beloved country, even while many Americans suspected them of being the enemy. Diversity powers America, but also keeps us safe�"one only has to look at these Nisei, like Kazuo Yamane, for ample proof."

Film