'442: LIVE WITH HONOR, DIE WITH DIGNITY' FILM TO BE SCREENED AT NATIONAL MUSEUM NOV. 11

Japanese Director Suzuki's Documentary Shares JA History With People of Japan

To mark the occasion of Veterans Day on Thursday, November 11, a special screening of the documentary, "442: Live with Honor, Die with Dignity", will be shown at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum.

The film by Japanese director Junichi Suzuki presents the story of the all-Japanese American fighting unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that served valiantly in Europe during World War II and earned eight Presidential unit citations, over 20 Medals of Honor and over 9,000 Purple Hearts. It is the most decorated unit in the history of the U.S. Armed Forces in terms of size and length of service.

While the unit was composed mostly of individuals from Hawai`i, a significant number of young men volunteered out of the government-run domestic concentration camps. Over 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were falsely incarcerated by the government during World War II. The story of the 442nd R.C.T. has become known in America through books, documentaries and even a feature move in 1951. However, "442" is among the first to document this story in detail for the people of Japan.

"In our portrayal of their agonizing battles," Suzuki explained, "we ask Japanese citizens to reflect on the meaning of being Japanese, and what it means to love one’s country through the eyes of Japanese American soldiers in the 442nd Infantry Regiment."

The film uses interviews with some of the surviving veterans, including United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye and George Sakato, both recipients of the Medal of Honor for their heroism. Sakato still bears the scars from his experiences and in the film explains, "I am not a hero. I just killed a lot of people. It's not good. This medal is for the people who couldn't return to their homes, not for me."

This is the second film by director Suzuki in a trilogy on the Japanese American experience. His first film, "Toyo’s Camera—Japanese American History During World War II", used the work of Japanese American photographer Toyo Miyatake as the starting point to examine this chapter of U.S. history. The films are jointly produced with UTB and Film Voice in Japan.

This program is free to National Museum members or with admission. For this day only, the DVDs for "442" will be available for sale on site.