Serving Our Country: Japanese American Women in the Military during World War II

Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and America's declaration of war on Japan, the U.S. War Department allowed up to five hundred second-generation, or "Nisei," Japanese American women to enlist in the Women's Army Corps and, in smaller numbers, in the Army Medical Corps.

Through in-depth interviews with surviving Nisei women who served, Brenda L. Moore provides fascinating firsthand accounts of their experiences. Interested primarily in shedding light on the experiences of Nisei women during the war, the author argues for the relevance of these experiences to larger questions of American race relations and views on gender and their intersections, particularly in the country's highly charged wartime atmosphere. Uncovering a page in American history that has been obscured, Moore adds nuance to our understanding of the situation of Japanese Americans during the war.

Author: Brenda Lee Moore
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 06/16/2003
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 8.98h x 6.01w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780813532783

Review Citation(s):
Women's Review of Books 02/01/2004 pg. 19

About the Author
Brenda L. Moore is an associate professor of sociology at SUNY Buffalo, and is the author of To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African American WACS Stationed Overseas during World War II.