She recounts their experiences in training and during the early battles in Italy, including the conflicts between Japanese American and Caucasian troops. Masayo Duus begins her story with the formation of the Japanese American units, which were an outgrowth of America's ambivalent attitude toward the entire Japanese American community at the outbreak of the war. They provided ample evidence of their patriotism to a country that had questioned their loyalty. At the end of the war, the 100th and the 442nd emerged as America's most decorated units. They nevertheless engaged the enemy with astonishing heroism, winning battle after battle at Anzio, Salerno, Cassino, and in the Vosges Mountains. In the eyes of their own government and the Europeans they liberated, they were an unlikely group of fighting men. Not trusted to fight in the Pacific, these sons of Japanese immigrants were sent instead to the European theater. I am also going back to inventories and descriptions of past exhibits featuring JAVC materials in order to prevent this exhibit from looking too much like those.Unlikely Liberators is the action-filled story of the men of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Since submitting my application and getting it approved, I have started going through the collections to come up with candidate documents/photos/artifacts for each section. (The lobby cases themselves will include a small introductory text and 6 captioned artifacts, one for each of the sections that will be explored in more depth upstairs.) In the downstairs lobby, meanwhile, two flat cases and additional signage will draw attention to the exhibit and direct visitors to see more in the Moir Reading Room. Also, a somewhat longer label will introduce the exhibit as a whole. In addition to individually-captioned items, each of these six sections will feature an introductory label contextualizing those items. After the War: The 442nd in Memory and Culture (6-10 items).Beyond the 442nd: MIS & CIC Nisei in the Pacific Theater (1-3 items).

The 442nd in Europe: The 522nd Field Artillery Battalion at Dachau (3-6 items).The 442nd in Europe: Italy and France (4-7 items).The 442nd in Training on the Mainland (4-7 items).Before The 442nd – The HTG, VVV, and the 100th Battalion (4-7 items).The main portion–up in the Moir Reading Room–will have six sections: In the exhibit application form I described what I planned to feature where. Exhibits at Hamilton are coordinated by the Library’s Exhibits Committee, which oversees scheduling and sets the policies all internal and external exhibit applicants must follow in order to put on displays in the building.

Unlikely Liberators by Masayo Duus