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Dealing with racism within army unit in Korea

There were remarks said to me, and, being an Asian sent to a place like Korea, there was constant, there was a constant sort of reference to, hey, you look like the enemy. And the enemy was called Joe Chink. That's what they called the North Koreans. And frequently they would call me, hey, Joe Chink.

And another thing was like they called me Pop-up, because I looked like the targets that we all shot at. Whenever we did target practice -- 'cause we had to constantly shoot weapons to qualify -- all these pop-ups had slanted eyes and buck teeth. They were from World War II, Japanese stereotype depictions. And I remember the first time I went out there and qualified with a .45, and you can't see these targets, then all of a sudden wham, this figure came up like this and here's this Jap. And you [makes shooting sound] shoot holes in it, boom, another one, another one, another one, five of them come up and they're all Japs. So, that was my nickname, Pop-up.


discrimination interpersonal relations racism United States Army

Date: March 18 & 20, 2003

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Alice Ito and Mayumi Tsutakawa

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Roger Shimomura's paintings, prints, and theater pieces address sociopolitical issues of Asian America. Many of his works are inspired by the diaries kept by his late immigrant grandmother for fifty-six years. Shimomura has had more than 100 solo exhibitions of his paintings and prints, and has presented his experimental theater pieces at such venues as the Franklin Furnace, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Widely honored as an educator, he was designated a University Distinguished Professor by the University of Kansas. In 2001 the College Art Association presented him with the Artist Award for Most Distinguished Body of Work in recognition of his four-year, twelve-museum national tour of the painting exhibition An American Diary. He retired from teaching in 2004.

Shimomura's personal papers are being collected by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. He is represented by galleries in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami, and Seattle.

*The full interview is available Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

A. Wallace Tashima
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A. Wallace Tashima

Being Denied as a Japanese American Lawyer

(b. 1934) The First Japanese American Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. 

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George Takei
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George Takei

Asian Stereotypes

(b. 1937) Actor, Activist

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Susumu “Sus” Ito
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Susumu “Sus” Ito

Generosity of the Italians

(1919 - 2015) Nisei who served in World War II with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

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Terumi Hisamatsu Calloway
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Terumi Hisamatsu Calloway

Discrimination faced in San Francisco (Japanese)

(b. 1937) A war bride from Yokohama

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Paulo Issamu Hirano
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Paulo Issamu Hirano

Accepted by Japanese society as I learned more Japanese (Japanese)

(b. 1979) Sansei Nikkei Brazilian who lives in Oizumi-machi in Gunma prefecture. He runs his own design studio.

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Robert T. Fujioka
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Robert T. Fujioka

Grandfather picked up by US Army

(b. 1952) Former banking executive, born in Hawaii

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Tom Yuki
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Tom Yuki

Japanese were not welcomed back to Salinas

(b. 1935) Sansei businessman.

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Takayo Fischer
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Takayo Fischer

Being Confused about Racial Identity in Postwar United States

(b. 1932) Nisei American stage, film, and TV actress

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George Kazuharu Naganuma
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George Kazuharu Naganuma

Painting murals and signs in the army

(b. 1938) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

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Mia Yamamoto
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Mia Yamamoto

Understanding anti black racism in high school

(b. 1943) Japanese American transgender attorney

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Mia Yamamoto
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Mia Yamamoto

Racial discrimination prepared her in becoming the first transgender trial lawyer

(b. 1943) Japanese American transgender attorney

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