In
any conflict, there are those who step up and do extraordinary things,
and then get little mention in history books. World War II was so big
and complicated that many of these stories never get the attention they
deserve. The internment of Americans of Japanese descent gets short
shrift in history classes, but the big pictures comes out when you look
for it. And buried within are fascinating stories of individuals, like
the swing bands of the internment camps.
When
Japanese-Americans were rounded up and forced into prison camps during
World War II, they had every reason to do nothing but sit and sulk all
day. They'd been branded as enemies of their country exclusively because
of their race. However, they couldn't help themselves; as their label
indicates, they were still Americans ... and Americans loved the shit
out of swing music.
While living in the camps, Japanese-Americans
coped however they could, and by far the swingin'-est, most hep method
was to pick up an instrument and play. Art Hayashi, a prisoner at
Washington State Fair Grounds in Puyallup, WA, became the leader of one
of the many swing bands that came together behind the barbed wire
fences. These bands ranged from trained professionals like Hayashi and
his Harmonaires to kids off the street who figured that relocation gave
them the perfect opportunity to learn how to play the saxophone.
Then
there was George Yoshida, who upon being forced to move to Poston War
Relocation Center in Arizona, was only allowed to carry one suitcase --
so naturally, he filled it with his jazz collection. Yoshida formed a
band called the Poston Music Makers, and later told a jazz-ified version
of his story through an album titled Big Bands Behind Barbed Wire.
Read more stories of unsung heroes, only half of them from World War II, at Cracked.
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