Memorializing Pearl Harbor

White Geoffrey M. White

Description

Memorializing Pearl Harbor examines the challenge of representing history at the site of the attack that brought America into World War II. Analyzing moments in which history is re-presented-in commemorative events, documentary films, museum design, and educational programming-Geoffrey M. White shows that the memorial to the Pearl Harbor bombing is not a fixed or singular institution. Rather, it has become a site in which many histories are performed, validated, and challenged. In addition to valorizing military service and sacrifice, the memorial has become a place where Japanese veterans have come to seek recognition and reconciliation, where Japanese Americans have sought to correct narratives of racial mistrust, and where Native Hawaiians have challenged their ongoing erasure from their own land. Drawing on extended ethnographic fieldwork, White maps these struggles onto larger controversies about public history, museum practices, and national memory.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Local history
• 20th century
• History of the Americas

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 31 mars 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822374435
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 31 Mo

Extrait

Memorîalîzîng Pearl Harbor

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g e o f f r e y w h i t e

Memorîalîzîng Pearl Harbor

u n f i n i s h e d h i s t o r i e s a n d t h e w o r k o f r e m e m b r a n c e

Duke Unîversîty Press•Durham and London•

© duke university press A rîghts reserved Prînted în the Unîted States o Amerîca on acîd-ree paper∞ Interîor desîgn by Courtney Leîgh Baker; cover desîgn by Nataîe F.Smîth Typeset în Whîtman by Westchester Pubîshîng Servîces

Lîbrary o Congress Cataogîng-în-Pubîcatîon Data Whîte, Geofrey M. (Geofrey Mîes), [date] Memorîaîzîng Pear Harbor : unfinîshed hîstorîes and the work o remembrance / Geofrey Whîte. pages cm Incudes bîbîographîca reerences and îndex. isbn---- (hardcover : ak. paper) isbn---- (pbk. : ak. paper) isbn---- (e-book) . Pear Harbor (Hawaîî), Attack on, . . Word War, –—Monuments—Hawaîî. . War memorîas—Hawaîî.  . Coectîve memory—Unîted States. . Memorîaîzatîon—Unîted States. i. Tîte. d767.92.w475 2016 .'—dc 

Cover art: Pear Harbor survîvor Ted C. Cînard presentsussMarylandwreath. December , . Photo by author.

acknowledgments • vîî

c o n t e n t s

introduction.Memorîaîzîng Hîstory • 

 One  Two  Three  Four  Fîve  Sîx

Survîvor Voîces •  Cutures o Commemoratîon •  Memorîa Fîm: Envîsîonîng Race and Natîon •  Themîng Amerîca at War •  Makîng a New Museum •  Pedagogy, Patrîotîsm, and Paranoîa • 

conclusion.Hîstory’s Future • 

appendix 1.Pear Harbor Bombîng Statîstîcs (December , ) •  appendix 2.Chronoogy o Hawaîîan Poîtîca Hîstory, Postcontact •  appendix 3.Chronoogy o Internment o Japanese Amerîcans and Japanese Resîdents •  appendix 4.Very Brîe Fîmography o Pear Harbor Oicîa and Feature Fîms • 

Notes •  Reerences •  Index • 

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a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

I books are journeys, then thîs one îs best descrîbed as an odyssey—a project that at first seemed quîte modest în scope but eventuay turned înto twenty- five years o încreasîngy îmmersîve învovement wîth the natîona memorîa to the Pear Harbor bombîng attack. What began as a project wîth casua obser- vatîons în  and a sma grant or fiedwork at theussArîzonaMemorîa în  deveoped, perhaps înevîtaby, înto mutîpe projects and coaboratîons. Aong the way I was învîted în  to joîn the nonprofit organîzatîon that partners wîth the Natîona Park Servîce (nps) to assîst în the deveopment o educatîon programs assocîated wîth the memorîa, openîng up opportunîtîes to work wîth an even wîder range o peope and organîzatîons. Needess to say, ît îs not possîbe to summarîze thîs journey în any sîmpe way, except to say that thîs sort o ong-term, engaged fiedwork spawns many rîendshîps and coaboratîons that can’t be adequatey acknowedged. One o the arguments o thîs book îs that memorîa sîtes and actîvîtîes are undamentay socîa în nature. A coroary o thîs argument îs that însîght înto the operatîons o the kînds o “coectîve memory” that emerge rom such sîtes requîres engagement wîth the peope and communîtîes învoved în the memory-makîng. The research or thîs book has îts roots în the open attîtude towardresearchamongmembersotheNatîonaParkServîceattheussArî- zona(and currenty the Word War II Vaor în the Pacîfic Natîona Memorîa Monument), as we as the Pear Harbor survîvors and others who work there as vounteers. Among the atter, Everett Hyand, Rîchard Fîske, Bob Kînzer, Ray Emory, Rîchard Husted, Staney Igawa, Joe Morgan, Herb Weatherwax, Sterîng Cae, and Jîm and Yoshîe Tanabe, became rîends as we as consutants. The members o the Natîona Park Servîce who heped out wîth înorma- tîon and advîce are too numerous to name îndîvîduay, but a ew stand out. The support o a sequence o superîntendents—Donad Magee, Kathy Bîîngs,

Doug Lentz, Frank Hayes, and Pau DePrey—proved crîtîca to sustaînîng the project. In the eary phases o thîs work, the support o the memorîa super- întendents Donad Magee and Kathy Bîîngs aîd the groundwork or my re- search în , conducted wîth Marjorîe Key and supported by a grant rom the Wenner-Gren Foundatîon. Danîe Martînez, chîe hîstorîan at the memo- rîa, has been a good rîend and constant source o însîght throughout. As prîn- cîpa archîtect o the fitîeth-annîversary symposîum în , whîch brought schoars and veterans (Amerîcan and Japanese) together înto a hîstorîc pro- gram, Martînez has been at the center o many o the actîvîtîes documented în thîs book. Among the împortant deveopments at the memorîa în the s were the eforts o Japanese veterans o the Pear Harbor attack to deveop rîendshîps wîth theîr Amerîcan counterparts and engage în ceremonîes o reconcîîatîon. Gîven that I have no background în Japanese studîes (specîaîzîng rather în Pacîfic Isands studîes), my research on these transnatîona dîmensîons o memorîaîzatîon has benefited rom the schoarshîp o a number o cose co- eagues în Japanese studîes, încudîng Pat Masters and her eary work wîth Japa- nese vîsîtors at the memorîa, Yujîn Yaguchî’s research on that subject în the s, coaboratîon wîth Takashî Fujîtanî and Lîsa Yoneyama on the poîtîcs o rememberîng the Pacîfic War, and wîth Marîe Thorsten on Pear Harbor fims and veterans’ commemoratîve actîvîtîes. Conversatîons wîth these coeagues have added îmmeasuraby to my înterpretatîons o the tange o U.S.-Japan reatîons în memorîa space. My ocatîon în the s at the East-West Center, a ederay unded organ- îzatîon estabîshed to strengthen reatîons between the Unîted States and countrîes o Asîa Pacîfic, proved ortuîtous. The mîssîon o that organîzatîon was a good fit or acîîtatîng actîve învovement wîth the eforts o veterans, es- pecîay Japanese veterans, to engîneer reconcîîatîon events wîth theîr Amerî- can counterparts. Wîth the East-West Center avaîabe to act as a “communîty sponsor,” I ound myse workîng wîth veterans, partîcuary the Japanese nava veterans organîzatîon, Unabarakaî, to arrange or a major ceremony hosted at Punchbow Natîona Cemetery în  to mark the fitîeth annîversary o the end o the war. In that context I earned about the împressîve eforts o the oca hîstorîan John Dî Vîrgîîo to document ora hîstorîes o Japanese veterans o the attack and came to know and apprecîate theîr dogged pursuît o recon- cîîatîon. Leadîng up to the Punchbow event în , the Unabarakaî învîted my wîe and me to partîcîpate în theîr own ceremony at a memorîa park în the Japanese Se-Deense Forces base în Tsuchîura, Japan. I am grateu to the Unabarakaî presîdent Takeshî Maeda, Secretary Jîro Yoshîda, and theîr assocî-

vîîî•acknowledgments

ate Hîroya Sugano or hostîng a vîsît that aowed me to gîmpse the Japanese sîde o memorîaîzatîon examîned în thîs book. My constant presence around the memorîa în the s ed to my appoînt- ment în  to the board o what was then caed theArîzonaMemorîa Mu- seum Assocîatîon, openîng up a sorts o opportunîtîes or brîngîng research and educatîon înto conversatîon wîth one another. Notabe among these were summer programs or hîgh schoo and coege teachers that I coorganîzed wîth Namjî Steînemann at the East-West Center, supported wîth grants rom the Natîona Endowment or the Humanîtîes between  and . As a mem- ber o the board o theArîzonaMemorîa Museum Assocîatîon (now Pacîfic Hîstorîc Parks) charged wîth advîsîng on the deveopment o educatîon pro- grams, I not ony earned about the înstîtutîons that hep to make pubîc hîs- tory at Pear Harbor, but I gaîned a more persona understandîng o the socîa mîîeus that make ît possîbe. Here, too, ît îs not practîca to name a those în the organîzatîon wîth whom I’ve worked over the years, but George Suîvan, Neî Sheehan, Coette Hîggîns, Tom Shaw, Pau Heîntz, and Laurîe Moore de- serve specîa mentîon. Ray Sanda provîded advîce on maps and photographs that have made thîs book more vîsuay efectîve than ît mîght be otherwîse. Perhaps the argest and ongest project undertaken by thenpsand îts part- ner at theussArîzonawhîe I was conductîng thîs research was Memorîa the undraîsîng and redesîgn o the new vîsîtor center and museum opened în . Invîtatîons to partîcîpate and consut on museum pannîng rom Lynn Nakata, head o thenpsmuseum redesîgn project, curator Scott Pawowskî, and members o the Adrîch Pears Assocîates consutîng team (Phî Adrîch, Doug Munday, and Sheîa Hî) ofered a chance to earn about museum pannîng by partîcîpatîng at severa eves. At an eary stage, or exampe, we worked together to mobîîze sma teams o graduate students rom the Unî- versîty o Hawaî‘î to conduct pîot research on vîsîtor attîtudes and expecta- tîons în ways that mîght înorm the desîgn process. I am grateu to Margaret Bodemer, Peter Hourdequîn, and Noa Matsushîta or theîr oray înto vîsîtor întervîewîng în , as we as Karen Kosasa, proessor o Amerîcan studîes, or acîîtatîng a second survey în , învovîng her students în the Unîver- sîty o Hawaî‘î Museum Studîes Certîficate Program. As someone îvîng în Hawaî‘î and workîng în Pacîfic studîes I have come to understand that Pear Harbor as both geography and hîstory îs deepy en- tanged wîth Natîve Hawaîîan geographîes and hîstorîes o the area, termed Pu‘uloa. Athough fishponds have been fied în and names overwrîtten, the area îs dotted wîth cutura and sacred sîtes that have renewed sîgnîficance în the context o movements or Hawaîîan sovereîgnty. I have earned much rom

acknowledgments•îx