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"San Piedro was an island of five-thousand damp souls, named by lost Spaniards who moored offshore in the year 1603." (Ch. 1) Accidentally, a group of lost Spaniards had went to Puget Sound while trying to find the Northwest Passage. They were eventually killed by Nootka slave raiders. -
"They sailed in search of the NorthWest passage...(they) sent a work detail ashore to cull a fresh spar pole from among the hemlocks at the water's edge. Its members were murdered almost immediately upon setting foot on the beach by a party or Nootka slave raiders." (Ch. 1)
There were already Native Americans on Puget Sound before the Europeans took over. -
"In America, she said, there was fear of death; here life was separate from being. A Japanese, on the other hand, must see that life embraces death, and when she feels the truth of this she will gain tranquility." (Ch. 7)
The outcome after the bombing of Pearl Harbor had made racism peak and be directed towards the Japanese Population. -
"I am for the immediate removal of every Japanese on the West Coast to a point deep in the interior….Herd ’em up, pack ’em off and give ’em the inside room in the badlands…let ’em be pinched, hurt, and hungry." (Ch. 9-10) There had been a law passed indicating to keep Asians and other immigrants from being able to own land or property. -
"There was no sense in talking to anyone about things. Everyone was in the same position. Everyone wandered like ghosts beneath the guard towers with the mountains looming on either side of them."(Ch. 15)
Internment camps were set in place where they isolated Japanese Americans. -
"There were guys who prayed at Tarawa,' said Ishmael. They still got killed, Mother. Just like the guys who didn't pray. It didn't matter either way." (Ch. 30) The Battle of Tarawa was a battle between the United States and Japan. The battle was part of an operation called "Operation Galvanic." The operation was meant to take over the Gilbert Islands. -
"I don't love you, Ishmael. I can think of no more honest way to say it. From the very beginning, when we were little children, it seemed to me something was wrong. Whenever we were together I knew it. I felt it inside of me. I loved you and I didn't love you at the very same moment, and U felt troubled and confused." (Ch. 24) In the letter to Ishmael, Hatsue confesses to him that she doesn't love him now but she also thinks that she never really loved him.
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The Battle of Okinawa was an intense battle between the Japanese Army and the United States. It was fought on the island of Okinawa, It was considered one of the most dangerous and bloodiest battles in the Pacific.