Interesting profiles of men who chose to enlist in the United States Army during World War II even as their families were being held in concentration camps due to Executive Order 9066. Most ended up fighting in Europe with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese Americans that has the distinction of being the most decorated in U.S. military history. They displayed valor and made tremendous sacrifices for the chance to prove themselves true Americans despite the government's racist violation of their civil rights.

Based on the men's oral histories, the stories are strong, even if the graphic novel has some weaknesses. It's one of those hybrid beasts that is mostly told in giant chunks of typeset text, so it's more an illustrated history than a true graphic novel. The line work of the images is decent most of the time, though it does have a tendency to get a little abstract and scribbly at times, which I find an odd choice for a historical piece. I disliked the weird coloring choices which tended to make specific panels monotone but switched that single color from panel to panel with no discernible rhyme or reason. It added nothing and distracted often.

I also found it odd, that in a historical book, they repeatedly refer to the principal of an elementary school that a couple of the men attended as "Miss Mahon." Why no first name? It's Ada, by the way. Ada Mahon of the Bailey Gatzert Elementary School. It wasn't hard to find, so why didn't the author bother?

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Foreword / Bruce Inaba -- Foreword / Beth Takekawa -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Shiro Kashino -- Chapter 2. Frank Nishimura -- Chapter 3. Jimmie Kanaya -- Chapter 4. Roy Matsumoto -- Chapter 5. Tosh Yasutake -- Chapter 6. Turk Suzuki -- Acknowledgments ( )