Anyway now my mind is mush....so much for smarts that were....

That's what I've heard lots of people say that they had a lot of prejudice after Vietnam. My partner has run into a lot of it. It still shocks me for some reason I guess I'm still caught off guard by it.

Did you push your mother away because she was asian?

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Both of us went on with Mother cheering us to be the first women in our families to get Masters degrees and sis got a doctorate. I went Post Graduate for licensure 3 years. Nothing overachiever about us. Like the hound of hell was after us.

Sounds like my Sisters. One is a Nuclear Physicist, another an engineer, and another was a vice president for a large corporation, but she did well in stocks in the 80's and retired early. Baby brother is an engineer and my 'dumb' brother has a trucking business and makes more money on a Monday morning than I get in a month

quote:

Originally posted by realfancy:
Did you push your mother away because she was asian?

Never. I never saw her as Asian.

I can relate to a lot of what you all said.. My dad was born in a japanese interment camp in California... he then served in Viet Nam, and fortunately came home relative unscathed -- he never talked about how he was treated, but it couldn't have been good... Outside of our small town, he was referred to as a Jap kid all his life, and never talked about it, and I'm sure he ran into some issues over there too, but he never discussed it.

I don't remember the birth of my son, but I remember VIVIDLY the loss of my first child when I was in the AF. It's one of those things I' have nightmares and flashbacks about.

Cause was stress from the emotional and physical torture I endured at the hands of my superiors in the service at my last base.

I think my Commercial Multi-Engine Instrument rating should count as either a Master's or PhD! LOL. It was certainly about the same length of time, and same amount of work -- only crammed into less than a year, as opposed to 2 or 3!

C230avatrix you are so good to share openly with your brothers and sisters. I for one certainly appreciate that very much. In my entire life it has grieved me deeply that people are so cruel, to use a persons religion, sex, nationality, skin tone, accent, and ethnic culture against them in any manner whatsoever. Your comment about your dad and the way he was referred to as a kid, sums it up "dad was born in a japanese interment camp in California... he then served in Viet Nam, and fortunately came home relative unscathed -- he never talked about how he was treated, but it couldn't have been good... Outside of our small town, he was referred to as a Jap kid all his life, and never talked about it, and I'm sure he ran into some issues over there too, but he never discussed it."
One of the bravest units in WWII European Theater was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team motto "Go For Broke" which was so impressive a major movie was made about the unit and starred one of the leading actors of the day Van Johnson. It showed the prejudice of the Army officers of that period which developed into their being close as brothers by the end of the war.
The movie explained the real-life story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Nisei, second-generation Americans born of Japanese parents. Fighting in the European theater during World War II, this unit became one of the most decorated in the history of the United States Army, as well as one of the units with the highest casualty rates.
The film was extremely rare for Hollywood. As it featured Asian-Americans in a positive setting and even more rare in highlighting the irony of those Japanese-Americans who fought bravely for their country while that country interned their families in concentration camps.
I saw the movie several times as a kid and saw it again a few years ago on cable TV's AMC before they changed their format.

"Wind talkers" was a movie that explained a lot to me about my fathers service as a Cherokee and why he chose to pass for white. My fondest memory was when I was 4 or 5 and my favorite friend was a Japanese girl who lived down the street from us. Her father served with my DAd apparently or else they were interred. I don't know. I remember my sister and I playing at her and her brothers house and my father and her father standing down a crowd that came to "run them out of the neighborhood" I remember my Dad taking his shirt off and doubling his fists and saying he would take on all of them for they would have to go through him first. They all backed down and left. My friend said your family and mine are good friends. I was proud of my Dad and that wasn't the only time I witnessed him standing against prejudice. My grandfather told about being 11 and facing down police who shot black protesters on our main street. Our family hated prejudice and fought against it all my life and taught us same. Chereokees were well known to not be prejudice in the old days which was their downfall or strength. Since my parents death we found out our Mother had Iroqois through her mother and Cherokee through her father. To me all southerners shouldn't be prejudice because if you truly are southern you aren't lily white! I realized one day I had some prejudice though against rednecks until my brother-in law announced he resembled that remark. Any female WAC suffered prejudice.

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and I'm sure he ran into some issues over there too, but he never discussed it."

That is probably why I asked my CO to be put in the field. I did not like being in the rear(Long Binh Base) but if it was because of my Mothers heritage and /or my features I can not say for sure, for if anyone had bias, they never put it in my face........but I could 'feel' it sometimes. The guys in the rear were genrally good men, but were like civilians sometimes with the 'Rare' occasional remark....."Aren't you afraid you'll be mistaken for the enemy, and get shot?" as when I got out civilians would say "did you ever get mistaken for the 'enemy'? The word 'enemy' would set me off.

But in Combat, as any hardcore Combatant knows, a man's racial heritage, size, religion,..things that judge a man in society..don't mean squat. There is no room for those feelings in a hot zone for a team to have their sh** together.

I trusted my life to my Brothers in Arms and they also trusted their life to me. They were the best friends I ever had in my life and losing some in Combat.....i can't..crying...

Aviatrix, I don't think I can say anymore right now,but thank you for your post. Flash

I will look forward to seeing the movie Go for broke.

Aviatrix you are so open I appreciate it too. Thank you for your posts. I feel like I'm really getting to know you and flash.

Dave -- my biological grandfather was a member of the 442nd!

My dad was in a hospital orphanage when he was 2 months old. His mother died in the camp. His dad was fighting overseas. My father actually was the "Nisei", my bio=logical grandfather was "Issei" or born in Japan, and immigrated to the US.

My grandparent's, a swedish couple, fostered my dad when he was 8 months old, and wanted to adopt him. The state of Wisconsin (this is where he was sent for some reason after his birth mother died) wouldn't allow them to adopt him. They fought to adopt him for 4 years, finally they were granted the right to do so. They were the only parents he ever knew.

I rememeber being a small girl, and hearing one of my mom's brothers talking about my dad being japanese. So I asked my dad if that was true (I was about 8, and was always getting asked by teachers if I was Menominee Indian, or Seminole when I was in Florida).

Dad said "I don't know." and that was the end of the subject. His mom told me later, that yes we were, and all about how they chose my dad to be their son and what little they knew about his birth parents.

His mother was 23 and his father was 24 and fought in the 442nd tank battalion which was the most decorated unit of WWII.

They also told me that the nurses in the hospital had been so enamored of him, and cuddled him every day because he was so adorable, that they had named him "Gregory" after Gregory Peck who was the most handsome leading man of the day, because that's who they thought he looked like.

My grandparent's kept his middle name as Gregory and that's what he went by till the day he died.

I miss my dad. He was my best friend. He went too young at 54.

It feels good to me that there is enough trust in this forum for the personal conversation I have been reading.

I too feel like I am getting closer to all of you, and it's a great thing.

I feel lucky to be associated with you, even if only in a small way. Flash, Real Fancy, Aviatrix... your candor makes me feel like I'm part of a family.

What a lesson could be learned by those who hold color, race, creed, lifestyle differences and their own hate against others.

I am proud to be here with you.

Thanks depicts...it has been great getting to know all that post here and you too have helped me. All the formuly here have been like a lifesaver to me.

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Originally posted by realfancy:
Thanks depicts...it has been great getting to know all that post here and you too have helped me. All the formuly here have been like a lifesaver to me.

I am quoting Fancy because I am at a loss for words right now, and don't think I can say it any better.

depicts, Thanks for your post.

Fancy, Your Father sounds like the Man my Father was. In their day, Hollywood would portray men like that, but in reality those good strong men were few and far between. His parents were born in Austria. When I was a little kid, I asked him what predjudice meant, and he said I wouldn't understand. He was right, I still don't understand.

Aviatrix, I wish my Father was still alive so I could tell him I'm talking to a direct descendent of a 442nd Warrior.

Depicts, Thanks again. Flash

I was very sheltered Flash growing up from the world outside and thought there were many men like my father because both my grandfathers and 3 of my uncles were men like that. I grew up with 4 male cousins who were like my brothers and they all sheltered me and kept me innocent. I dated guys from my church and married my church sweetheart. He continued to keep me sheltered. I was very naive when I entered the service even though I was a mother of two and 24 years old. That was the end of that. Well I knew about college things as I had some college but very little of cruelty and none of real violence and brutality. I grew up quick. I wasn't dumb and knew some of what to expect. I wasn't a stranger to hard work or hard times but the kind of inhumanity men can do to other men and women was new to me. I was told of it growing up but to witness it and experience it was another thing altogether.

Through the years I've learned to value how rare my Dad, uncles and grandfathers are/were and how dear my cousins are. The only ones left now are my cousins and one of them is dying and another is really ill but even so he offered to come and be with me when my husband was operated on in another state so I wouldn't be alone. That's just how they are. You are right Flash....they don't make men like that too often anymore.....too bad. We could use a lot more of them.

I remember trying to play with a little black girl when I was small at a theater and we kept reaching out to each other. My mother didn't object and kept smiling to her mother but people in the theater started frowning and her mother suddenly pulled her back. I began to ask questions like why we couldn't eat downstairs at Woolworths or why we couldn't stay and go to the movies the little girl was going to see.
My mother never said anything about prejudice or Jim Crow but she said there were things not right in our town and I would learn about those things when I got older that kept us apart. To this day my sister and I talk about how could we grow up wit Jim Crow and learn so little prejudice. Mother and Dad were the reason and Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. They were my world but I was raised in a inner city church so I was exposed more than most and was taught it was wrong. I believe children aren't naturally prejudice but have to be taught.

As far as Hollywood....my Dad was tall (in my eyes) dark and handsome as any hollywood man!Everyone that looks at my parents pictures says wow! They look like moviestars! To me they always did!