Serving Our Country
Japanese American Women in the Military during World War II
Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and America's declaration of war on Japan, the U.S. War Department allowed up to five hundred second-generation, or "Nisei," Japanese American women to enlist in the Women's Army Corps and, in smaller numbers, in the Army Medical Corps.
Through in-depth interviews with surviving Nisei women who served, Brenda L. Moore provides fascinating firsthand accounts of their experiences. Interested primarily in shedding light on the experiences of Nisei women during the war, the author argues for the relevance of these experiences to larger questions of American race relations and views on gender and their intersections, particularly in the country's highly charged wartime atmosphere. Uncovering a page in American history that has been obscured, Moore adds nuance to our understanding of the situation of Japanese Americans during the war.
Brenda Moore has given us such an eye-opening look at the racialized genderings of World War II - the war we think we know so much about and yet in fact are just beginning to really grasp in all its complexity. Furthermore, using in-depth narratives and exploring Japanese American women's pre-war, wartime and post-war experiences, Moore has reminded us that any war is a heady mix of state manipulation, popular anxieties and individual women's own subtle forms of agency. This is a book for right now.
Serving Our Country is a fascinating account of an important story virtually unknown until now. We are indebted to Brenda Moore for adding a new and significant chapter to our nation's history.
