Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II

Daniel James Brown follows the lives of Kats Miho, Fred Shiosaki, Rudy Tokiwa, and Gordon Hirabayashi to document the Japanese American experience during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States government classified these citizens as enemy aliens and forcibly removed their families to incarceration camps. The narrative details the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Japanese American unit that fought through the rugged terrain of Italy, France, and Germany. Brown juxtaposes the intense violence of European front-line combat with the legal battle led by Hirabayashi, who challenged the constitutionality of the curfew and exclusion orders in the American court system.

Historians and readers interested in military strategy or civil rights law will find a focused account of how minority groups navigate state-sponsored discrimination. The text provides a technical look at the 442nd’s specific tactical maneuvers on the Gothic Line while examining the psychological toll of fighting for a country that imprisoned one’s parents. Readers gain a clear understanding of the specific legislative failures that led to executive order 9066 and the logistical reality of infantry life during the final years of the war.

Contemplative and clear-cut; a moderate read.

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