Resources

We Were Samurai can only cover a fraction of the story of the Second World War, and Japanese-American incarceration. If you want to learn more, here are some resources you can use to deepen your understanding of this important chapter in history.

Densho

Densho is a massive digital archive of primary and secondary sources about Japanese American incarceration in World War Two. Their mission is to, “To preserve and share history of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.” You can find articles, images, and even interviews of survivors on this site.

100th Infantry Battalion Veterans education center

This site is dedicated to the 100th Battalion. It includes first-hand accounts of the war, photos, letters, and articles about life on Hawaii before the war, the war itself, and the lives of veterans after they came home.

Go for broke national education center

The Go For Broke National Education Center, is a massive database for all things about the 442nd. It includes an impressive oral history archive of interviews with veterans.

From Hawaii to the Holocaust

This documentary is free and available to stream online. It tells the story of how Japanese American soldiers with the 552nd Artillery, a branch of the 442nd, liberated a sub-camps of the Dachau Concentration camp.

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a massive non-profit where you can find documents, radio, images, music, and film from WWII or any other time period. In particular you can find the complete Go For Broke a fictional film about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that starred many actual veterans of the 442nd.