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A Terrible Idea : The memorial to the Japanese-Americans - Brief Article
National Review, Nov 22, 1999 by Stephen E. Ambrose
In World War II, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were ordered out of their homes and farms by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Most of them were citizens. None of them were accused of any crime. There was no due process. California governor Earl Warren led other West Coast governors in demanding their removal. They were sent to camps in the desert, surrounded by barbed wire. The camps were called then, and later, concentration camps, which in World War II had a specific meaning, referring to the German extermination camps.
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The United States has acknowledged its injustice and repented and given cash compensation to the victims. At the national museum, the Smithsonian in Washington, more than one-quarter of the permanent exhibit on the Second World War is devoted to the treatment of Japanese-Americans. Now a $10 million monument is being erected in Washington to the victims.
There are some distinctions to be made when recounting the dreary and shameful story of the internees. First of all, the Japanese-Americans were not put into concentration camps as the term was understood during the war. None of them were killed by deliberate act of the government. No one proposed, much less acted on, the idea of ridding the United States of Japanese-Americans. Despite the mistreatment, many young Japanese-American men volunteered for the U.S. Army and went into the 442 Regimental Combat Team, which fought in Italy and became one of the most decorated front- line units of the war. (Regrettably, the Armed Services failed to fully use their skills as language interpreters in the Pacific.)
But the main point is, memorials are supposed to be put in place to honor men and women who acted in some positive way for the good of the nation. They are not erected to praise or acknowledge those who were abused. We build monuments to honor those who have put their lives on the line for us, or who have led us through terrible times or onto new paths. The first monument in Washington is to George Washington, who did all three. The second is to Abraham Lincoln, who also did all three. The third is to Thomas Jefferson. Then comes Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and other heroes, especially of the Civil War. Then there is the Vietnam Wall and the statue to the men who served their country in Vietnam. A memorial will soon be built to honor the men and women of World War II.
Many of those who should have memorials cast in stone in Washington to help all future generations of Americans to remember and honor their deeds, don't. Dwight Eisenhower is one, Harry Truman another, Elizabeth Cady Stanton a third.
The question to be asked is, If we are to erect a memorial in stone to the Japanese-American victims, why not to others? A memorial in the nation's capital to those who were abused, degraded, and discriminated against by the U.S. government should certainly include the Japanese-Americans of 1941-45, but also African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Spanish-speaking Americans, Native Americans, and many others. We ought to redress the wrongs with apologies, congressional resolutions, exhibits in museums, passages in history textbooks-but not with monuments.
With regard to the Japanese-Americans, it is true that they were discriminated against by the government for no reason other than their race. But, again, they were not alone. African-Americans were discriminated against by national, state, and local governments during the war. They could not vote in most of the states where they lived. Black men were drafted but not allowed to serve in the Armed Forces except in segregated units, which were not allowed equality with their white counterparts.
Chinese-Americans were discriminated against by the national and state governments for decades. They paid taxes but could not vote. They were not allowed to work in various places. Irish-Americans were greeted by signs at taverns, restaurants, and hotels, enforced by police, that read "No dogs or Irishmen allowed." German-Americans were discriminated against all across the country in World War I, by private citizens and by government agencies. The list could go on and on.
No one has proposed erecting in stone a national monument in Washington to honor these victims, or to express America's regrets, or to gain forgiveness. No one should. The memorial to the Japanese-Americans-for which ground was broken on October 22 and which will take about a year to complete-is a terrible idea.
Mr. Ambrose is the author most recently of Comrades: Brothers, Fathers, Heroes, Sons, Pals.
COPYRIGHT 1999 National Review, Inc.
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