Entrevistas

1. Growing up with both Japanese and American influences

2. Starting to get angry

3. Finding out Roosevelt wanted Japan to attack

4. Strictly American, but sympathize with Japan

5. Parents expected to be taken by the FBI

6. Angry about the mistranslations of his father’s testimonies

7. Not able to go to Manzanar on a furlough

8. 525 Quartermaster Corps

9. Fort McClellan soldiers

10. “All I have dear to me is in the camp”

11. Try to be a bridge between both countries

12. Common Grounds

13. Interpretation of Nikkei

14. The Meaning of “Nikkei” (Japanese)

Shimo,Cedrick

(1919-2020) Membro do Batalhão de Engenheiros 1800. Promoveu o comércio entre o Japão e os E.U.A. enquanto trabalhava no setor de exportações da Honda

Starting to get angry

After basic training or during basic training, I got a furlough and came to LA and there was talk of evacuations so I helped my mother pack and then I went to the Japanese school where we did our kendo and the boy scout meeting[s] and I see many people moving into the classrooms and I said,” what’s going on here?” I says. “These are people from Terminal Island, they were booted out of there. And had no place to go, so they’re here.” So I said, hey how come they were booted out?

You know, that’s when I started to think, hey something is wrong here and I think that was the first time my blood began to boil, I think. Even in the army before that I had no problem- basic training, it was all mixed group, I had a little ROTC and the boy scouts- we had close order drill, so even the sergeant knew that’s why he had me leading the whole platoon, as just a trainee, you know, leading the platoon and all. I didn’t feel any discrimination in the army, of course later on I applied for officer’s training, then I was told “you’re not eligible” so I went for a non-com class to become a non-commission officer but there was slight indication of that I says, I guess I am Japanese and all that, but I didn’t blame anybody, I says, well such is life, you know, but it was at the Terminal Island “expulsion” you might say that, that’s the first time I start to feel a…I was starting to get angry, you might say.

Califórnia discriminação relações interpessoais racismo Ilha Terminal Estados Unidos da América

Data: March 25, 2005

Localização Geográfica: California, US

Entrevistado: Sojin Kim

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Entrevistados

Cedrick Shimo nasceu em 1919 e cresceu numa vizinhança etnicamente diversa em Boyle Heights [subúrbio de Los Angeles]. Ele praticou kendo, foi escoteiro, e era associado ao Cougars, um clube esportivo nipo-americano. Ele recebeu sua convocação para o exército um dia após o bombardeio de Pearl Harbor, enquanto cursava a escola de pós-graduação Cal Berkeley. Cedrick se alistou no exército e se inscreveu na Escola de Línguas do Serviço de Inteligência Militar. No entanto, quando lhe foi negado uma licença para visitar sua mãe em Manzanar [campo de internamento de japoneses], ele se sentiu ultrajado e se recusou a lutar na guerra no exterior. Como resultado, ele foi colocado no 1800º Batalhão de Engenharia, um grupo segregado de germano-, ítalo- e nipo-americanos considerados suspeitos. Seu trabalho consistia em consertar danos em estradas, pontes e cercas causados por tropas de combate durante manobras de treinamento. Depois de ser dispensado com honras do 1800º Batalhão, Cedrick retornou a Boyle Heights e eventualmante se tornou vice-presidente da divisão de exportações da Honda.

Em 20 de novembro de 2008, o Japão lhe concedeu a Ordem do Sol Nascente, Raios de Ouro e Prata, por seus esforços na promoção do comércio entre o Japão e os E.U.A. durante sua estada na Honda—um período de fricção comercial entre os dois países.

Ela faleceu em abril de 2020, aos 100 anos de idade (abril de 2020)