Letters

Dear Other Person,

Hi I read your letter and I am very interested in your experiences there. How long were you there before you discovered that you may be allowed to come home soon? What was happening while you were out there, did you have any important memorable experiences that may be relevant to our country's history in the future? And if you don't mind telling me what exactly the song you and the soldiers wrote means exactly? I'd be very interested in hearing about what you have to tell me, maybe with more information on your experience so I can get a better understanding of what happened during the 44nd Infantry Regiment.

Sincerely,
Person

"Dear person,

It is August 15th, 1945. I was drafted into the 442nd Infantry Regiment exactly one year ago. We may be sent home soon, but we will be sent as second class citizens. I am looking forward to coming home, but some of the other soldiers would rather stay and fight than be sent home as second class citizens. I hear that in Hawaii they are actually starting a peaceful movement against it, and I would definitely join if I could.

We came up with this song to give us hope during one of our fights.

"Four-Forty-Second Infantry— We're the boys of Hawai'i nei— We'll fight for you And the Red, White and Blue, And go to the front... And back to Honolulu-lulu. Fighting for dear old Uncle Sam Go for broke! HOOH! We don't give a damn! We'll round up the Huns At the point of our guns, And vict'ry will be ours! GO FOR BROKE! FOUR-FOUR-TWO! GO FOR BROKE! FOUR-FOUR-TWO! And vict'ry will be ours!"

World War 2 Experiences

My mom wasn't alive during World War 2 and my grandma is no longer living, but I'd imagine that it was probably tough on them and very hectic because of all the disasterous things that were going on. Such as, the Axis and Allies which was a conflict between sets of different countries. The Axis countries involved Germany, Italy and Japan. And the Allies countries involved France, Polland and the United Kingdom. Intially it begun when Germany tried to take over Polland Slovakia, then France called Germany to war several times afterward. But basically World War 2 was a constant battle between many countries that went on for a few years, and I'd imagine that it was tough and probably has scarred many civilians.

World War ll Imagery

Date: 1942

Artist: McClelland Barclay

"Produced for the Navy
Recruiting Bureau
NARA Still Picture Branch
(NWDNS-44-PA-24)"

True Story: "Masculine strength was a common visual theme in patriotic posters. Pictures of powerful men and mighty machines illustrated America`s ability to channel its formidable strength into the war effort. American muscle was presented in a proud display of national confidence."

When I look at this picture I see a very strong man in the army loading guns into a cannon. When I first saw this picture I was immediately attracted to this mans body and the fact that he was so strong that he was able to lift a bullet as big and heavy as that. And when I thought about it this is false advertisement because everyone knows that this does not happen in war. But this was meant to attract men that are small and would like to be muscular strong. Also it attracts the women that want a man like to maybe encourage their spouse to join the Navy so they can also look like that.

 

Date: May, 1945

Photographer: Khaldei 

The Story: "Surely the most famous image of the war, reproduced in many forms - a victory stamp and the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, to name two. In one of the bloodiest campaigns of the American drive through the Central Pacific, the Marinese captured Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. When they raised the flag on Mount Suribachi, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped off this shot. Unaware of its impact, he sent the negative to his wire service. The editors spotted it instantly as a moving, memorable image, of American resolve, tenacity, and victory. Within hours, it was all over the front pages of the nation's newspapers."

When I look at this picture I sense victory and relief and it makes me think about how hard this war must have been and how great it must have felt to win. My reaction to this picture was me being glad and thankful that this war ended and we aren't going through this because I can only imagine that this was tough and must have felt impossible and so unreal to some. And I know many were killed and injured from the effects of this war and a forever scarred from what they experienced and felt during the time. And for those that are still alive til this day that see this must feel so happy and relieved that it's over.

Date and Info: "Hitler and Mussolini in June 1940"

The story:"The Axis Powers invaded other countries and expanded their territory. At the beginning of the 1930s Japan invaded Manchuria because it had a lot of raw materials. In 1938 it attacked China and later on expanded to Southeast Asia. In 1935 Italy took over Ethiopia. Germany started its conquest of foreign territories by invading Austria. Italy and Germany also sent soldiers to help another dictator, Francisco Franco, in the Spanish Civil War.The Allies were made up of a total of 50 countries. They were led by Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, China and the United States and opposed the Axis."

When I see this picture I see Hitler sitting with a man smiling, probably because he is satisfied with whatever else trouble he has caused to the world and innocent people. My reaction to this picture was an endless amount of disrespect for this man and pure hatred in a way because when ever I see his face I think of what all of the jews had to go through and the troubles they faced and it makes me wish that he was alive so I can make him suffer and make him go through every single thing that they went through because that was cruel and unusual punishment that should not be tolerated. I understand that it has been dealt with, but it should have even been existent to begin with.