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Is there any credence to the idea presented by the film that relocation of the Japanese Americans was to keep them safe if a Japanese invasion took place on the West Coast?
No knowledgeable person of the era would have believed it credible that the Japanese could invade the West Coast. Logistically it was impossible for the them to accomplish such an invasion and anyone with even a remote knowledge of military issues was aware of this.
The Bombardment of Ellwood during World War II was a naval attack by a Japanese submarine against United States coastal targets near Santa Barbara, California. Though damage was minimal, the event was key in triggering the West Coast invasion scare and influenced the decision to intern Japanese-Americans. The event also marked the first shelling of the North American mainland during the conflict.
The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as The Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to the rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late 24 February to early 25 February 1942 over Los Angeles, California.[1][2] The incident occurred less than three months after the United States entered World War II as a result of the Japanese Imperial Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one day after the Bombardment of Ellwood on 23 February.
Initially, the target of the aerial barrage was thought to be an attacking force from Japan, but speaking at a press conference shortly afterward, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called the incident a "false alarm." Newspapers of the time published a number of reports and speculations of a cover-up. Some modern-day UFOlogists have suggested the targets were extraterrestrial spacecraft.[3] When documenting the incident in 1983, the U.S. Office of Air Force History attributed the event to a case of "war nerves" likely triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining batteries.
Did all the 'white' people in America "look so much like the enemy"? There were a hell of a lot more Americans of German or Italian ancestry in the country at the time. A hell of a lot more. Were 'white' Americans kept from fighting in Europe because they looked too much like the enemy? Stupid.
Yeah? Well, who won?
That's all that matters, isn't it?
Ain't that what the Koran advises?
By any means necessary.
Right?
What the hell are you talking about? What does the Quran have to do with this topic? Are you trying to derail the thread? For what reason?
Yeah? Well, who won?
That's all that matters, isn't it?
Ain't that what the Koran advises?
By any means necessary.
Right?
What the hell are you talking about? What does the Quran have to do with this topic? Are you trying to derail the thread? For what reason?
I was just throwing you a bone wanting you to feel at least SOMEWHAT familiar with the discussion.
...only a brain dead liberal WOULDN'T be preparing for such an invasion!
You are a joke.
U.S. Govt Film Depicts WWII Japanese Internment Differently Than You Were Taught
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6gSShuQCUE
When I've pondered the issue of whether there was sufficient justification i have never given any thought to the rationale given early on in this film, that if there'sd been an invasion the Govt. wanted to keep the Japanese safe and away from any fighting where well intentioned American men with rifle and shotguns and pistols and knives might mistakenly target the Americans of japanese heritage thinking they were invaders and double agents and such.
Might have saved a great many of them from overzealous American White boys with deadly weapons who didn't really care if Mr. Nisei (Pronounced "nee" "say") had an American birth certificate or not. Boys who subscribed to the belief that the only good Jap is a dead Jap!
So, once again we see that it's important that, whenever possible, we always consider at least one other point of view when coming to a conclusion about a thing.
Is there any credence to the idea presented by the film that relocation of the Japanese Americans was to keep them safe if a japanese invasion took place on the West Coast?
I don't believe for a second that it was to keep the Japanese safe at all. We still allowed them to enlist and fight for us.
There was a real danger to Japanese/Americans on the coast, feelings were high against anyone that looked Asian. In fact, instructions were given on how to tell Japanese from Chinese or other Asians, as I remember one characteristic to check was the individual's toes. Even Zoot-suiters got into trouble with the military in LA, and I think the film "1941"
made some of that abnormal fear into a comedy, but at the time it was no comedy. I think many of the Japanese/Americans of that period understood the fear better than we do today.
...only a brain dead liberal WOULDN'T be preparing for such an invasion!
You are a joke.
You do realize that an artillery barrage from a single submarine is not equivalent to a full scale invasion of the West Coast?
The Japanese did not have the capacity to launch a a full scale invasion of the West Coast and anyone with a modicum of intelligence knew that.
Not at the time, grasshopper.
Not at the time.
I don't believe for a second that it was to keep the Japanese safe at all. We still allowed them to enlist and fight for us.
There was a real danger to Japanese/Americans on the coast, feelings were high against anyone that looked Asian. In fact, instructions were given on how to tell Japanese from Chinese or other Asians, as I remember one characteristic to check was the individual's toes. Even Zoot-suiters got into trouble with the military in LA, and I think the film "1941"
made some of that abnormal fear into a comedy, but at the time it was no comedy. I think many of the Japanese/Americans of that period understood the fear better than we do today.
Yup.
That's why, as the film indicates, many of the J/A & A/J cooperated with their relocation.
As I would have, if I truly loved this country!
There was a real danger to Japanese/Americans on the coast, feelings were high against anyone that looked Asian. In fact, instructions were given on how to tell Japanese from Chinese or other Asians, as I remember one characteristic to check was the individual's toes. Even Zoot-suiters got into trouble with the military in LA, and I think the film "1941"
made some of that abnormal fear into a comedy, but at the time it was no comedy. I think many of the Japanese/Americans of that period understood the fear better than we do today.
Yup.
That's why, as the film indicates, many of the J/A & A/J cooperated with their relocation.
As I would have, if I truly loved this country!
Boy, you're gonna love those FEMA camps!
It is so easy now to sit in our easy chairs and recreate that period in American history and plan what we would have done, but at the time fear was rampant on the coast.
.
Is there any credence to the idea presented by the film that relocation of the Japanese Americans was to keep them safe if a Japanese invasion took place on the West Coast?
No knowledgeable person of the era would have believed it credible that the Japanese could invade the West Coast. Logistically it was impossible for the them to accomplish such an invasion and anyone with even a remote knowledge of military issues was aware of this.
Sabotage and similar activities were the only real concern that held a modicum of merit, but the risk was relatively small. The Black Dragon secret society was a highly nationalistic Japanese organization which was a foundation for espionage, sabotage and assassination in other counties and there were Black Dragon operatives active in the USA. In 1942, FBI agents arrested members of the Black Dragon Society in the San Joaquin Valley, California.
The primary reason was xenophobia and racism. Ironically, one of the primary proponents of the interment was the Governor of California at the time. He twisted FDR's arm to get this done. He later became famous as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court... Earl Warren best known for tearing down segregation starting with his opinion in Brown vs Board of Education and also known as the head of the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of JFK.
It is so easy now to sit in our easy chairs and recreate that period in American history and plan what we would have done, but at the time fear was rampant on the coast.
.
It's apparently easy for some people of low character to make excuses for that POS FDR because their partisan obstinacy and need for hero-worship are more important to them than the very principles upon which this great nation was founded.
What did he do to you?
War is the health of the state. And no POTUS knew that better than the feeble minded Soviet controlled FDR.
He like all our presidents in war time, dictated unconstitutional acts like the internment of American Japanese. Apparently some Americans today are perfectly fine with this. Is it any wonder we now suffer under the dictates of a small elite when so many Americans will gladly be ruled by them?
What did he do to you?
I'm an American and he shit upon the Constitution. If you don't have a problem with throwing innocent Americans into concentration camps, then you're not a real American.
It's called, "20 - 20 hindsight."
We NOW know the Japs couldn't have invaded but at the time we didn't.
If you want a historical reference everyone can agree on it's the unceremonious depiction of armed guards standing watch along Oahu's shoreline and beachfront area in the days following Dec. 7th. in the Oscar winning classic, "From Here To Eternity
If it was common knowledge, according to you, that the Japs couldn't have invaded and that no one believed the possibility existed, why were there soldiers standing sentry duty with loaded weapons in the novel and in the film?
Heck, you probably have more info on the Japanese NOW than FDR had AT THE TIME.
It's called, "20 - 20 hindsight."
No it is what is known as "knowledge"
We NOW know the Japs couldn't have invaded but at the time we didn't.
That is quite similar to asserting that during the Orson Wells broadcast of War of the Worlds we did not know the Martians were not invading. Some of course did believe that Martians were invading, but those people were not paying attention and did not have the information that others had when the broadcast was made.
I will repeat... No knowledgeable person at that time believed that the Japanese could launch a full scale invasion of the West Coast.
LOL, relying upon movies? Need I remind you that Hawaii is not the West Coast?
If it was common knowledge, according to you, that the Japs couldn't have invaded and that no one believed the possibility existed, why were there soldiers standing sentry duty with loaded weapons in the novel and in the film?
Err because it was a novel and a movie and Hawaii is not the West Coast?
I will repeat... No knowledgeable person at that time believed that the Japanese could launch a full scale invasion of the West Coast.
Heck, you probably have more info on the Japanese NOW than FDR had AT THE TIME.
Well duh... I know for example that the Japanese, using six carriers, attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. FDR, prior to the attack, knew that an attack was imminent but did not know when or how or where. Most observers felt it would be the Philippines, believing that the waters of Pearl Harbor were too shallow for a torpedo plane attack. The development of a wooden tail fin produced at a factory in Nagasaki resolved this problem (I always thought the Nagasaki reference to be interesting... responsible for the opening salvo of the war and receiving the final salvo of the war). One expert predicted that the attack would come on a Sunday, at dawn on Nov 30 1941 and would be done with no prior warning. His prediction was off by one week. However that does not refute my point which is:
No knowledgeable person at that time believed that the Japanese could launch a full scale invasion of the West Coast.
The rest of your post is nonsense having nothing to do with my point, which is
No knowledgeable person at that time believed that the Japanese could launch a full scale invasion of the West Coast.
Perhaps you may wish to review the military concepts of "logistics" and ponder why the US conducted an island hopping campaign for over 3 years so they would have bases close enough to Japan to launch an invasion, instead of merely sending the fleet to Japan and invading in 1942.
I am sure that there must be some movie out there which supports your view. Perhaps "War of the Worlds"? Or perhaps "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force"?
California was witness to some of the most traumatic events that happened during the war in the then 48 states. When Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941 California was racked from north to south with near panic conditions because tens of thousands of its citizens expected similar attacks, possibly by the same naval force that attacked Hawaii, at any time on California cities.
Within days of the attack on Hawaii, Japanese submarines were attacking merchant ships off California's coast reinforcing those fears. Wild rumors circulated of Japanese invasion fleets being seen in California water and of actual Japanese landings. There were rumors of air attacks, rumors that secret Japanese air bases existed in California's deserts or in Mexico, rumors of sabotage, of periscope sightings and of many other fearful things. Worst of all, there were wild and unfair rumors about the ethnic Japanese: Japanese fishermen were mining harbors; supplying food, fuel and secret information to submarines off the coast; Japanese farmers were poisoning fruits and vegetables they brought to market; the Japanese were secretly organized into military units to carry out attacks behind American lines if and when an invasion came. None of these things were true, but every such rumor was believed by someone.
These fears lead to a series of immediate and unusual events in California. Martial law was declared on Terminal Island in Los Angeles Harbor where a major U.S. Naval base, important oil facilities and a large ethnic Japanese community existed side-by-side. Soldiers from west coast Army posts, some of them only partially trained, were rushed to various points along the coast to prepare defenses against an invasion. California's beaches were strung with miles upon miles of barbed wire. Coastal cites were blacked out and citizens sandbagged their homes and businesses. Radio stations went off the air, commercial airliners were grounded and ships were ordered to stay in port. These measures were seen as absolutely necessary by the west coast Army commanders because at the time of Pearl Harbor the Army Air Forces in California consisted of only 16 modern fighter planes available to defend the entire state.
Citizens of enemy countries (enemy aliens), most of them Germans and Japanese who were known to the FBI and thought to be dangerous, were taken into custody under international laws defined by the Geneva Conventions and shipped off to internment camps as far away as North Dakota. This represented only a small percentage of the 531,882 registered enemy aliens in the state. Califomia a the second largest enemy alien population in the nation. New York had the most with 1,234,995.
In time, the wildest rumors faded away but others persisted, especially those about the ethnic Japanese. Fears turned into harassments and attacks on the ethnic Japanese, many of whom began to fear for their safety and that of their families. Soon, a fantastic plan began to evolve to expel all people of Japanese ancestry from California, and within a few months that plan was put into effect.
In late February 1942, as the evacuation of ethnic Japanese was just getting under way, Californian's war fears were rekindled when news came that an oil facility near Santa Barbara had been shelled by a Japanese submarine. Some saw it as a prelude to greater attacks or perhaps an invasion. The night following the shelling Los Angeles had a false
air raid that looked and sounded like the real thing and went on for several hours. Antiaircraft guns fired away at imaginary planes and search lights scanned the skies looking for them. It was weeks before everyone in the area was finally convinced that Los Angeles had not really been bombed.
While Californians were learning to live with war fears their aircraft and shipbuilding industries exploded with defense work. Unemployment virtually disappeared and every one was called upon to do their share for the war effort. California's huge oil and mineral resources were cranked up to full production, new industries of all kinds sprang up, train loads of people flocked to California looking for work, and her southern border was opened to Mexican workers. During the war California would receive 11.9% of all U.S. Government war contracts and her plants and workers would produce 17% of all war supplies made in the U.S. Military bases were built by the dozen, sometimes in little towns that people in the big cities didn't even know existed. California's deserts became bombing ranges, her harbors became naval bases, her airports became air bases and infantry and tanks rumbled across her farm lands, orchards and deserts. During the course of the war California would acquire more military installations, by far, than any other state.
During the long war years California's big cities became mega-cities and the automobile became the main means of transportation. Already, California lead the nation in the number of cars; one for every 2.3 persons in the state. The Los Angeles area, already large and growing rapidly before the war, experienced the greatest growth of any metropolitan area in the country. By the end of the war the Los Angeles metropolitan area stretched 80 miles solid from the San Fernando Valley to San Bernardino, and a new phenomenon had occurred ... smog.
War fears for most Californians never really went away and with good cause, for the Japanese had plans to carry out further attacks against the state, if and when the opportunities arose. During the winter of 1944-45 the state was attacked again ... this time by Japanese bombing balloons. Many bombs were dropped on California by these curious weapons but no significant damage was done, and effective U.S. censorship kept news of individual incidents secret from most Californians.
As a direct result of the war, millions of Americans "discovered" California for the first time. Many stayed on after the war and others returned to settle in the state. In doing so, they started a trend of strong and steady growth that lasted for more than four decades.
In EUROPE where their facial appearance didn't make them look so much like the enemy.
Did all the 'white' people in America "look so much like the enemy"? There were a hell of a lot more Americans of German or Italian ancestry in the country at the time. A hell of a lot more. Were 'white' Americans kept from fighting in Europe because they looked too much like the enemy? Stupid.
