PBS History Detectives did a segment on this Dec. 7 Pearl Harbor story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident
They closed with mentioning how the poor Japanese were interned during the war and how FDR had issued orders to do so a couple of months before the FBI had investigated the incident. They failed to mention that a Navy report had been made shortly afterwards that may have influenced FDR's decision for internment.
Wow, one Hell of a story Johnny, What was not mentioned was the Hawaiians trusted the Japanese on the islands and never had them rounded up into camps.
While the West coast of America was rounding up 6 generation American Japanese confiscating their home and businesses, raiding their bank accounts, all UN Constitutional acts, the Islands never did so, even to those first generation Japanese that were now part of their culture.
War brings out the most knee jerk reactions from everyone, things and ideas get a little bit crazy on both sides.
The old timers mention the internments camps on the West coast with the same thought they would give to their natural beaches, no real interest in what happend in their time. Some of the Camps are now museums for the descendants of the time, they shake their heads at anyone that want to go and see the conditions in the camps 60+ years ago.
This part of history is or was seldom taught in schools or colleges. Me a history buff when out there in the 1970's, asking questions of my in laws as to why my husband educated in the area of the Camps never knew or believed in their existence, had only the reply of, " why do you like to argue so much".
Gave me some idea why some Germans refuse to believe in a Holocaust. Take them to the Camps and some refuse to believe their generation was responsible, or never happend.
The East coast that had Japanese and German Subs laying off shore to my knowledge did not round up all Asian's be the Japanese or Chinese.
Some Italians and Germans were placed in camps, or sent to prison in Canada. Was one town in Maine where German POWS were taken to but these men for the most part after the war stayed and intergrated with the populaces. I have a few friends that have German granddads that still have no idea how granddad came to America.
What gets to me is how people in their teens and 20's at the time refuse to accept the history they took part in, down the road years later. I did not know the old folks tell us, Bull shit, War is nasty, Will the Koreans and Taiwanese ever forgive the Japanese for what was done to them???? Not likely, the Asian people have long memory's are patient for century's then when the time is right they sneak up and cause revenge for actions taken against them 200 years in the past.
War is as natural as the air we human breath, how it is handled is the reason History Buffs get in and dig about to find the history that is not written by the Winners of any war. The Good guys win, the Bad guy looses, or in the next generation the Bad guy overcomes the Good guys and new history is written.
