Gather Journey Of Heroes : The Story Of The 100th Infantry Battalion And 442nd Regimental Combat Team Generated By Stacey T. Hayashi Readable In Version

JOURNEY OF HEROES, author Stacey Hayashi takes the reader on the journey of the Japanese American soldiers of theth Bnnd RCT during WWII.
Those soldiers fought bravely for the U, S. army, even though their families were sent to internment camps, Hayashi captures the essence of the soldiers' virtues of loyalty, perseverance, integrity, honor and friendship, Hayashi's historical summary is accompanied by chibis illustrated by Damon Wong, Excellent work! Having served two tours in the Middle East and extended "other" tours in Asia as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal tech for the US Army, I understand the difficulty in describing ones experience to others.
Most of the time you don't, But for those whose narratives are important in our history, not just militarily, but as a community of Americans, that option of silence is not preferable.
Enter Stacey Hayashi and her Journey of Heroes book, Stacey utilizes a medium that may not be understood by adults, but is wildly popular with children as an effective medium to transmit a very intense narrative.


I bought two copies of the book when she came to Seattle at the Nisei Veterans Museum and ended up giving both away, one here in the US, and one in Thailand to a group of school children to help explain both a piece of history that is difficult to describe why does a people jailed and persecuted for race end up going into uniform and essentially fight for those that persecute them, as well as show that their wartime experience was anything but easy.


A traditional book is only interesting for maybepercent of children readers, barraged day to day with easy soundbytes and candy coated images.
Stacey has managed to balance a serious topic and treatment of the essential elements of the Nisei Vets and place it into a very effective medium to tell the story not just in the US, but as I found worldwide.
Some people may not understand it, but I remember so many decried the eBook format when it came out as well.
Chibi art is very popular and in the end, the author was very wise in her decision to utilize it to reach her intended audience.
children of today.

I found the characters realistic, and oddly familiar as some of the hijinks, loneliness, and internal pain that all soldiers go through reflected in their drawings and simple dialog.
Kudos to the Stacey for this,

Journey of Heroes is recommended for teachers, veterans, and anyone who wants to reach out and explain a bit of the truly unexplainable to the kids of today.
This was a WONDERFUL book, The best part of it was the fact that it was so accessible for its target audience.
I liken it to the Graphic Novels Maus I and Maus II which chronicle the plight of European Jews during World War II.
The Chibi characters helped to enhance the story for me, as they reminded me of the AJA veterans I know.
. . "cute" "spunky" and perhaps a bit mischievous, It was impactful for me, as a Japanese American, I have been wanting to see a book that anyone could pick up, read for a few minutes and perhaps begin to understand just how influential theth andnd are.


There is no main character in the book, just an anonymous narrator, taking us on his "journey" through combat in the Vosges Mountains in France, his training at Shelby, and his postwar life, and the lives of his brothers in arms.
I thought the lack of an identifiable main character would be odd, but on the contrary, it allowed the reader to immerse himself into the character, and in some ways become the main character himself.
. . thus personalizing the story moreso than if an identified main character/narrator existed,

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in WWII Japanese American history, Journey of Heroes is an accessible, easy, quick read that will pique the interest of those who read it, and is easy enough for a gradeschool student to pick up and read.
It's historically accurate, while not glorifying or trivializing the brutality of war, it strikes a nice balance between historical accuracy, and ageappropriateness.
It is not Tolstoy's War and Peace, and it shouldn't be viewed as such, Journey of Heroes is an introduction into the story of the famed AJA soldiers of WWII, and in my opinion, Ms.
Hayashi, and Mr. Wong have done a masterful job,STARS! This is clearly an amateur work of comics, but the story it tells is quite powerful.
Theth and thend were made up of second generation JapaneseAmerican soldiers fighting in World War II.
Despite the racism and internment that JapaneseAmericans experienced on the mainland, these soldiers fought to prove their patriotism and loyalty to the United States.
As I read their experiences, I couldn't help tearing up a little bit, This is wellworth reading if you can get a copy, They have copies at the Fort Derussey Army Museum in Waikiki, Be sure to pick up a copy if you're in the area, I learned a lot about the Nisei soldiers and JapaneseAmericans in Hawaii from this book, I would recommend it to everyone.
The fun art style is contrary to the serious subject matter which possibly makes it easier to read.
Hopefully one day theth/nd will get the movie that they deserve since that would likely draw an even larger audience than the comic book.
Wonderful book! Both informative and entertaining, not only for myself, but all three of my kids loved this book and lent it to their friends as well.
It is a great way for kids, teens and adults alike to educate themselves on the Nisei experience during World War II.
When I was growing up, my uncle, who served in the originalth Infantry battalion, would share his stories about the war with me.
It wasn't violent, gory, or bloody stories about killing Nazis, but rather, they were vivid images of the things things he experienced during the war particularly in Italy.
He passed away a few years ago, but his stories stick with me to this day,

Stories like having to use pack mules to carry casualties after Monte Cassino, Getting trench foot while huddling in a wet trench in the Anzio sector, Getting daily "visits" from "Anzio Annie" and "Screaming Mimi's", and how he'd hear the Messerschmitt jets Me's flying over the beachhead every so often, and of course the dangers of the "Bouncing Betty".
Those were the stories that made the war real for me, that and hearing about the "other side" of the war they had to fight, that against prejudice.
He'd tell me stories about his time at Camp Shelby the mosquitoes and how people would treat the first group ofth volunteers.
It wasn't pretty, and from the tone of his voice, it's something that really hurt him, He would also never speak about friends he lost, again, it was probably too painful,

When I read "Journey of Heroes" which uses an unnamed narrator, I could once again hear my uncle's voice telling a young me his stories.
I could almost see him instead of the "chibi" in the book, But I don't think you need to have an experience similar to mine to really appreciate this book.
The war isn't the main story of this book, but rather it's the experiences of these group of men as they went to, fought, and lived after the war.
That's where I think the "chibi" characters really come in to play, They make the story "relateable" for those who are young or those who may not have had family who were able to share these stories with them.


As the brave men who fought with thend/th slowly leave us, it's important that we continue to remember not just the "battlefield stories" of that generation, but also the valuable lessons that of comradeship, perseverance, and duty that they taught and continue to teach us to this day.
I highly recommend you add "Journey of Heroes" to your collection,
This was such a good idea, I mean, how can one really go wrong with war heroes It had backing from the large and supportive Japanese community in Hawaii afterall who can't get behind WWII heroes I hope these backers are pleased with the publicity since it got a LOT of exposure and press.
Stamps of approval from Sen, Inouye, Jake Shimabukuro, Central Pacific Bank, and other sponsors and donors, Hayashi and Wong are very good promoters, and who doesn't want to sing the well deserved praises of WWII heroes

I've been trying to find background info on Stacey T.
Hayashi and illustrator Damon Wong, All I could really find is that Hayashi actually wanted to make ath/nd film, Wong is an animator, and they met "through their families and lives in Providence, R.
I. " Honolulu StarAdvertiser. So I am assuming this is the first GN for both of them,
This actually tells me a lot about this GN, On theircomicbook. com website it says

Developing the story in this graphic novel medium a flexible, easilyconsumed format makes it eminently accessible to younger audiences gradestowho might otherwise never study or learn from this most important chapter in the history of Asian Americans and our country.

Few, if any, tell theirth/nd soldiers' story within a medium that appeals to the audience that most needs to learn from and understand these lessons: our youth.


Now, I know this is part of the pitch: a product that is educational for children is just easier to sell.
But I think this was ultimately the GN's downfall, By only focusing on the selling points, they forgot about making an engaging story with enhancing art.
I really feel I got a dumbed down tale with art that distracts from the characters' importance.


The

fact that there is no main character but an unidetified narrator made it less personal and harder to identify with.
I guess they wanted the everyman approch but it didn't work, War is NOT cute, and having chibi charaters was a bit insulting imo, Chibi style is associated with ultracute stories, think "Hello Kitty, " Now think "Hello Kitty as and soldier," doesn't really work, They said "regular" looking characters made the GN too intense in their opinion, But war IS intense, andGraders know that, I doubt they would get mentally or emotionally damaged with any piece of work that was well done.
Just leave out the sensationalism and explicitness,

I think the lack of GN experience shows, if this was a film or cartoon/animated feature whatever you want to call it, and I'm sorry a cartoon is NOT just a moving GN it probably would've been much better because different decisions would've been made.

This GN took a LOT of work, unfortunately that just didn't equate to quality because the final product just doesn't deliver an emotional or educational impact.
This is a comic book, a graphic book, or screen layout, for a movie the author wants to make about the Hawaii allnisei second generation of Japanese parentage born in Hawaii WWII soldiers in theth Infantry Battalion /"Go For Broke" Regimental Combat Team.
It is inspiring and humbling and very relevant to today's politics and issues of racism, I wonder if our children know this story about the most decorated unit in American military history It should be mandatory reading for middleschoolers.
I will be sending a copy to my grandson, Most of these men are dead, including our beloved Senator Daniel Inouye, but a few remain among us and are living treasures.
This is an absolutely delightful little book and an obvious labor of love, I highly recommended it if you can still find a copy, Although I was not directly involved with the comic book, I helped Stacey write the feature film script.
The comic book takes selected events from the film script and brings them to life, These events are taken from Stacey's and my extensive research from rare and hardtofind books, as well as interviews short and long with surviving veterans.
From what I can see, Stacey and Damon have chosen the most important and poignant moments, and put them into a freeflowing and easytoread format.
I think the "chibi" style is perfect for children and young people, and that it is an interesting and creative way to motivate youngsters to develop an interest in history.
Very welldone!.