Extra Credit #1
Melissa Elizalde
Section A01
April 24th, 2014
A Response to "Asian Americans and the Military"
Lecture by: Profesor Darrell Hamamoto
First off, I would like to begin by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Hamamoto's lecture on "Asian Americans and the Military." As a Latina woman I found it interesting to view American history from a viewpoint that I had not considered before. Below I hope to recount some of the main points and interesting facts that I gained from this lecture. To begin, I really enjoyed how we were given first hand accounts of what it was like to be Asian American during WW11 and the Vietnam War. Professor Hamamoto detailed his experience in the Vietnam War and how he was against the draft because he didn't want to "support American fascist interests" and "kill other Asians." I can't imagine being in a situation where I would be forced to kill individuals of my own ethnicity and support ideals that I did not agree with. For this, I gained immense respect for the Asian Americans that were drafted in the war and had to fight against individuals that were Asian as well. Professor Hamamoto also discussed the effects of war on the Sansei youth and how they had high rates of drug usage during and after the war. He also chronicled the high rates of overdoses and suicides amongst this population and how the Sansei women took an active role in helping with recuperation. Among one of the most important ideas that Professor Hamamoto discussed was the need for collaboration among different ethnic communities in order to find the true source of oppression in our society. This idea can be connected to the pan-ethnic movement that we discussed in class and the effect it can make in creating real change. Overall, I enjoyed the lecture and I'm looking forward to and would encourage others to attend these important events.
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