The study of World War II Japanese American removal and incarceration remains fresh and interesting, even though it happened decades ago1 Despite the best efforts of those who had been uprooted, deprived of unalienable rights, and held captive against their will for over three years, little redress was to be found for more than a generation. A partial and belated governmental recognition and rectification finally came, but its insufficiency further fueled a smoldering fire that had been burning for some time. The smolder became a literary conflagration as an increasing number of scholarly works and firsthand accounts were published, decrying the abuses of incarceration, criticizing euphemisms like "relocation," and working to create a public sympathy and awareness of the injustices done to these American citizens. Prejudice and rectification are still the major themes of the most recent scholarly work, but a close reading of primary sources, from the imprisonment experience through the present day, reveals that those afflicted by this heinous ordeal and their descendants want the world to understand something else. The story of what happened to this victimized yet amazing people has been told. The sufferers want us to comprehend not just what happened to them, but what they did about it, how they survived in these camps, and what this perseverance says about their indomitable spirit. They want to be seen as transcendent survivors who displayed dignity and patience, and not as aggrieved victims.
