07 Asian Americans and World War II

Wartime experiences differed

World War II created opportunities for Asian Americans to serve in the armed forces and contribute in other ways, while also intensifying racial discrimination. Experiences differed by ancestry, citizenship, and location. Japanese Americans faced mass incarceration; Chinese and Filipino Americans served in the military and supported the war effort in other ways.

Japanese American incarceration

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, fear and anti-Japanese racism fueled suspicion of people of Japanese ancestry. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. The order authorized military commanders to exclude people from designated areas, but did not name Japanese Americans; its enforcement nevertheless led to their forced removal from much of the West Coast.

More than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, including many U.S. citizens, were incarcerated without individual charges or trials. Families had little time to leave their homes, farms, businesses, and possessions. Many people were first held in temporary detention facilities and then sent to guarded, remote camps.

In Hawai‘i, Japanese Americans made up a large part of the population. Rather than carrying out a mass removal of the community, the government incarcerated more than 2,000 people of Japanese descent there.

Life and community in the camps

People lived in crowded barracks, often behind barbed wire and under military guard. Incarceration disrupted family and community life and caused losses of freedom, property, and security. Incarcerated people also created schools, newspapers, religious groups, shops, and other community institutions. These efforts helped sustain daily life but could not undo those losses.

Japanese American military service

Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military even as their families and neighbors were incarcerated. The 100th Infantry Battalion, formed largely from Nisei soldiers in Hawai‘i, fought in Europe and later joined the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Soldiers in the 442nd included volunteers from Hawai‘i and men recruited from incarceration camps. Japanese American linguists in the Military Intelligence Service translated and interpreted in the Pacific theater.

Military service was not limited to men: Japanese American women served in the Women’s Army Corps and the Cadet Nurse Corps.

Draft resistance and difficult choices

When the military resumed drafting incarcerated Nisei men in 1944, some refused induction. They argued that the government should restore their rights before demanding military service. The Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee helped organize this protest. Hundreds of men resisted the draft, and many were imprisoned.

Other Japanese Americans enlisted or complied with the draft. They saw service as a way to defend their country, support their families, or challenge assumptions about their loyalty. These differing choices reflected the impossible circumstances of incarceration; Japanese Americans did not share a single response.

Chinese American contributions and changing policy

Chinese Americans served in the armed forces and worked in wartime industries while continuing to face discrimination. In 1943, Congress repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The change allowed Chinese immigrants already in the United States to become naturalized citizens, but set a very small immigration quota. It reflected wartime politics as well as Chinese American advocacy and service.

Filipino service and resistance

Filipino soldiers and guerrillas fought Japanese forces in the Philippines, while Filipino immigrants in the United States also joined the U.S. military. Their service took place amid shifting U.S.–Philippine political ties and restrictions on Filipino immigration and citizenship. The wartime experience therefore included combat and resistance under Japanese occupation, racial discrimination, and unequal recognition of military service.

War, discrimination, and civil rights

The war reshaped Asian American communities in contrasting ways. Japanese Americans endured mass incarceration and community disruption, while some served in segregated military units and others resisted the draft to protest injustice. Chinese and Filipino Americans also served and contributed to the war effort while facing unequal treatment. Wartime demands, racial prejudice, military service, and struggles for civil rights intersected throughout this period.