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Quiet Americans

@quietamericans.com

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Uncovering Japanese American stories: History. Injustice. Resistance. Achievements. Remembering those who built, fought, and endured. https://quietamericans.com

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Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · Jul 13

Welcome to Quiet Americans.

We tell stories of Japanese American history — injustice, resilience, and resistance.

Inspired by Claude Akira Mimaki, a Nisei soldier who rarely spoke of his WWII incarceration or Army service, we’re here to make sure it’s heard.

quietamericans.com

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 21h

Born on this day, Ralph Lazo wasn’t Japanese American.
But when his classmates were sent to Manzanar, he refused to let them go alone.

For two years, he lived behind barbed wire — not because he had to, but because he wanted to.

🔗 quietamericans.com/ralph-lazo

#QuietAmericans #RalphLazo #Manzanar

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 2d

November 1, 1941: A month before Pearl Harbor, U.S. Army secretly formed the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) to train soldiers in Japanese.

Thousands of Nisei linguists went on to serve in silence, saving countless lives and shortening the war by years.

🔗 quietamericans.com/mis

#MIS #WWII

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 3d

Topaz closed on Oct 31, 1945.
One of its incarcerees, Mitsuye Endo, helped make that happen.

Her case went to the Supreme Court.
She won.
The camps closed.

👉 quietamericans.com/topaz
👉 quietamericans.com/california-fires-400

#OnThisDay #QuietAmericans #MitsuyeEndo #JapaneseAmericanHistory #Topaz

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 4d

The largest mass trial in U.S. history was one of the biggest failures of justice.

Oct 30, 1944 — Sixty-three Japanese American draft resisters from Heart Mountain stood trial for refusing to serve while their families were locked up in concentration camps.

quietamericans.com/heart-mounta...

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 5d

October 29 is National Cat Day 🐾

The Japanese Bobtail has been part of Japanese culture for centuries, known for its pom-like tail, playful personality, and the maneki-neko.

It came to the U.S. in 1908, but wasn’t officially registered until the 1960s.

Learn more at cfa.org/japanese-bob...

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 6d

On October 28, 1895, Tōyō Miyatake was born.
During WWII, he smuggled in a lens and built a homemade camera to document life at Manzanar.
They took away his freedom — but not his vision nor determination.

🔗 quietamericans.com/toyo-miyatake

#ToyoMiyatake #Manzanar #WWIIhistory #QuietAmericans

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 6d

A lighthouse for Africa and Asia became a symbol of freedom in America.

Originally called “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia,” it was meant for the Suez Canal — until Egypt rejected it. The design was reused for the U.S.

Oct 28, 1895 — The Statue of Liberty was dedicated.

#StatueOfLiberty

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 8d

On October 26, 2024, the Manzanar Baseball Project hosted a commemorative game on the site of one of the most cherished ballfields in America’s concentration camps.

🔗 quietamericans.com/manzanar-baseball-project

#Manzanar #BaseballHistory #JapaneseAmericanIncarceration #ManzanarBaseballProject

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 9d

They left no man behind. Even when America did.

On October 25, 1944, the all-Japanese American 442nd RCT began the brutal rescue of the “Lost Battalion.”
They saved 211 men from Texas — at the cost of over 800 of their own.

Read here: quietamericans.com/lost-battalion

#442ndRCT #LostBattalion

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 11d

October 23, 2000 — Norman Mineta became the first Asian American to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet when he was appointed Secretary of Commerce.

He eventually held two cabinet posts under two presidents, helping guide America through the aftermath of 9/11.

🔗quietamericans.com/norman-mineta

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 14d

Oct 20, 1942 — Gordon Hirabayashi was found guilty for resisting the racist curfew & exclusion orders.

But he never stopped believing in the Constitution.

Years later, his conviction was overturned.
He had been right all along.

#QuietAmericans #GordonHirabayashi #WWII #CivilRights

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 14d

The most dramatic return of WWII.

On Oct 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur made good on his vow and returned to the Philippines.

From a beach on Leyte, he told the people:
“I have returned.”

His words became legend — and so did the moment.

#WWII #QuietAmericans #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 14d

October 20, 1942, President Roosevelt slipped and called them “concentration camps” at a press conference.

Not “relocation centers” or “internment camps” like they pretended them to be. He signed the Executive Order. He knew what they were.

Find out why: 🔗quietamericans.com/concentration-camps

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 15d

All “good” things must come to an end. Even the “Free” Press.

October 19, 1945 — The last issue of the Manzanar Free Press was published.

It wasn’t truly free. It was censored and controlled. And its end meant more change, and for many, more hardship.

🔗 quietamericans.com/manzanar-fre...

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 16d

The first Asian American president of a major university never stopped learning.

Fujio “Fudge” Matsuda kept studying well into his 90s, and urged others to do the same.

Oct 18, 1924: Matsuda, a pioneering engineer, educator, and lifelong student, was born in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

#FudgeMatsuda

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 17d

October 17, 1943: The “Shitara Sisters” helped two German POWs attempt an escape from their prison camp in Colorado.

They weren’t loyal to their husbands, their people, or their country.
But they were loyal to their heart.

quietamericans.com/shitara-sisters

#OnThisDay #JapaneseAmericanHistory

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 18d

A brief meeting became a short lifelong friendship.

October 16, 1963: Yuri Kochiyama met Malcolm X while attending a hearing for her arrest during a protest.

It was the beginning of an extraordinary connection that was cut short by the assassination.

quietamericans.com/yuri-kochiyama

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 21d

Born on October 13, 1923, Cherry Kinoshita survived incarceration at Minidoka, then led the fight for redress and justice.
Her strength and leadership helped pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

More about Cherry: quietamericans.com/cherry-kinoshita

#QuietAmericans #CherryKinoshita #Minidoka

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 23d

In 1906, San Francisco tried to force Japanese American children into a segregated school.
They said it was to protect white students.

Today, we call it what it was.

Learn more: quietamericans.com/oriental-school

#QuietAmericans #OnThisDay #AAPIHistory #JapaneseAmericanHistory #Segregation

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 25d

#OnThisDay in 1938, Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki was born.
He survived WWII bombings, hustled his way to America, and built a restaurant empire.

And he didn’t stop there.
He opened nightclubs.
Published racy magazines.
Raced powerboats.
And had seven kids with three women.

🔗 quietamericans.com/rocky-aoki

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 26d

#OnThisDay in 1916, Spark Matsunaga was born.

Born into poverty, he hustled and won a $1,000 prize selling newspaper subscriptions — enough to pay for college.

He went on to become a war hero, civil rights advocate, and U.S. Senator.

🔗 quietamericans.com/spark-matsunaga

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 28d

Short. But not sweet.

The Jerome incarceration camp held over 16,000 Japanese Americans — including thousands of children — in the swampy forests of Arkansas. It operated for less than two years, about half the duration of other camps.
But the damage was done.

#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 29d

Appreciate you reading and sharing it! Thanks for helping keep these stories alive.

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 29d

Hi Linnert, thank you for highlighting this memorial — it means a lot that it continues to resonate. For anyone having trouble reading the plaque, here’s a transcript:

1 1 2

Quiet Americans @quietamericans.com · 29d

They fought for a country that incarcerated their families.
Decades later, the country finally said thank you.

October 5, 2010 — President Obama signed S.1055, awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Japanese American veterans of the 100th, 442nd, and MIS.

#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory