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Natives first settled in the Puget Sound area as early as 10,000 BC. They arrived by a natural ice bridge that spanned from modern-day Russia to Alaska.
"Its [the Vizcaino expedition's] members were murdered almost immediately upon setting foot on the beach by a party of Nootka slave raiders." -page 7
https://www.historylink.org/File/1506
https://www.eopugetsound.org/terms/212
https://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/thrush.html -
One of the first Europeans to explore the San Juan Island area was Francisco de Eliza. He explored the islands starting in 1791. After examing the area from Vancouver Island to Seattle, I infer that the author used San Juan Island as the inspiration for San Piedro Island.
"Settlers arrived ... souls and eccentrics who had meandered off the Oregon Trail."-p. 7
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitee32.htm
https://www.britannica.com/place/Seattle-Washington/History -
Land Laws began as a way to unfairly seize dominance in the West from Native Americans in the 1800s. Owning property is a fundamental right in the Constitution because the founders knew that the ability to own land is key to having freedom. Alien Land Laws were also used against the Chinese and then Japanese.
"The witness makes reference to a...statute...which made it illegal at the time of which she speaks for an alien, a noncitizen, to hold title to real estate." -page 61 -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor is regarded as one of the darkest days in American History. It is what propelled the United States in WWII. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese planes sneak attacked Pearl Harbor naval base. 2,467 people died, including civilians.
"There is nothing else on the radio. Everything is Pearl Harbor."
-pg. 87
https://cenjows.in/upload_images/pdf/Synergy_Dec_2014.pdf#page=51
https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/bitstream/handle/1840.16/7804/etd.pdf?sequence=2 -
Americans generally had an isolationist perspective entering WWII. FDR was elected on the promise of neutrality. FDR knew more support would have to be drummed up, so in 1942, FDR created The Office of War Information (OWI). One of the jobs of the OWI was to boost morale at home and undermine enemy morale. This was often done through propaganda.
"It's characteristic of the Jap to be sly and treacherous."p.166
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goebbels-propaganda/ -
On February 19, 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, initiating the policy of internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast.
"The Miyamoto family away in the camp, says she, maybe they won' come b-back." -page 72
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation
https://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp -
The Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943) is known as the toughest battle in Marine Corps history. This battle was part of the leapfrogging strategy the Allies used in the Pacific. The Tarawa Atoll was deemed strategically advantageous, so the US sent the largest invasion at the time to take it.
https://www.businessinsider.com/battle-of-tarawa-in-wwii-the-toughest-battle-in-marine-corps-history-2017-11
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa -
A "Dear John Letter" is a letter sent by the significant other of a soldier in battle telling them they are breaking up with them. The phrase originated long before WWII, but that was when it was popularized. Such a letter would leave a soldier hopeless and sometimes with nothing for which to fight.
"It was the kind of suffering, after all, he'd yearned for during the last five months, since receiving Hatsue's letter."
-page 114 -
This is one of the most important battles in the Pacific Theatre throughout the war. It was the largest amphibious assault the US had ever launched. Some historians speculate the number of casualties the US forces suffered, as well as the intensity with which the debilitated Japanese forces fought, lead the US to bag their plan of a mainland invasion of Japan and drop the atomic bombs instead.
https://mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/OKINAWA_VICTORY_AT_THE_THRESH.pdf -
The Pear Harbor Memorial was built in 1962 to commemorate the lives lost during the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/historyculture/pearl-harbor.htm
https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/explore-parks/pearl-harbor-national-memorial