Entry 6

Peter Ota

            The most surprising concept that came from this piece was the humiliation and separation that the internment camps brought.  Peter explains how Execution 9066 forced his mother into a sanitarium, his father to Missoula, Montana, and his sister and him to Santa Anita.  The order is breaking up this family which is awful.  I believe that the order was made out of vengeance and that it was not thought out thoroughly.  According to Peter Ota, “Shame in her culture is worse than death.  Right after that day she got very ill and contracted tuberculosis.  She had to be sent to a sanitarium.  She stayed behind when we were evacuated.  She was too ill to be moved.  She was there till she passed away,” (205).  The embarrassment and betrayal of the United States destroyed her will to live.  The government destroyed that family’s beliefs and freedoms.  During that time, society may have said that it was okay to do that.  But, I believe that it contradicts the United States value that every man is created equal.  During World War II, the Nisei were not treated equally to other man which is what is the most distraught thing about this.  The Nisei are people that believed in America over Japan.  They chose to leave Japan to come to America.  Did the government ever think about that?  These people trust the United States for a better future, and the United States destroyed the Nisei’s lives after that.  America is a diverse country, so they should not punish one type of people because their homeland is threatening America.  It is just sad to hear a story of a woman that lost her will to live because of the betrayal of the government towards her family and culture.

Betty Basye Hutchinson

            I found it quite interesting how she was so determined to become a nurse in the war.  I understand that her brother and boyfriend went to the war, but she does not understand what she is getting into.  She does not know what war brings and causes to people.  She just assumed that she had to go to people and help the wounded.  Did she even consider that she was going to get to know these people that were hurt?  According to Hutchinson, “He was very hard to manage because he would scream when they changed his dressing.  He was insistent that he never was gonna leave that room until they brought him back to where he was before.  The staff couldn’t quite figure this out.  Why isn’t he quiet?  Why can’t he be brave when they’re changing his dressing?  What does he think we are, miracle makers? This mystique builds up that bill can’t handle it as well as the others.  Be brave, be brave,” (215).  Here she is saying that Nose needs to be brave about the change.  They want him to grow up and accept the change.  I think that those nurses should stop doing this.  The only thing about war they understand is the injuries.  They do not know the trauma that it believes.  Do the nurses know what the soldiers are thinking about in the process of dying?  Do they feel the pain that the soldiers feel? No, so it does not make sense why they are forcing the soldiers to change what they want.  Those soldiers have already endured too much pain and trauma.  I believe they should have the right to choose his dressing.  The nurses are contributing to the war, but the soldiers are the reason why the war would be won are lost.