Letters from the 442nd: The World War II Correspondence of a Japanese American Medic

Preface

PREFACE Work on this book began in 1989, when Hana Masuda asked me to collaborate with her to publish the letters her husband had written to her during World War II. At the time, I was working in the University of Washington Archives and had been assigned to process Masuda’s papers. Hana and I worked together until December 1990, when she had a debilitating stroke. She died in 2000. Retired in 2004, I decided to resume work on the manuscript. Hana and I selected 120 of her husband’s 220 letters. We chose the most interesting and representative. First, we eliminated many detailed passages concerning Min’s mail: the lists of letters from home, statements of plans to write back to various individuals, and references to delays of arriving mail. Next, we omitted frequent and elaborate descriptions of souvenirs sent to Hana, and acknowledgment of packages from her. Finally, we deleted personal messages to Hana. For authenticity, capitalization and punctuation were not changed. The Medical Detachment Daily Log was divided to provide a chronology of events for the letters. Brief, frequent deletions were made: we eliminated military times, and date and place redundancies. To avoid a clutter of dots, we used no ellipses. Military abbreviations were standardized. We left capitalization and punctuation as is. Hana wrote recollections of events to fill gaps and provide explanation . She also wrote Senator Daniel Inouye to request a foreword. xi xii preface I wish to thank the University of Washington Archives for permission to print Masuda’s letters and portions of the Medical Detachment Daily Log. I thank Professor Donna Leonetti of the University of Washington anthropology department for her assistance and kindness during the years since this project began. I also owe thanks to Pat Soden, director of the University of Washington Press. I am particularly grateful to Naomi Pascal, former associate director and editor -in-chief, now editor-at-large, of the University of Washington Press, for her encouragement, help, and patience. The Masudas’ daughter, Tina Masuda Draughon, has provided much-appreciated help and support. Finally, I owe special thanks to John Carey, whose assistance in the final stages of the preparation of the manuscript made this book possible. Dianne Bridgman ...