Editorial Reviews
Book Description
When World War II began, New Mexico had a population of 531,815 inhabitants, one of the least populated of the 48 states. Yet, New Mexico and New Mexicans played a key role in the outcome of the War in the Pacific. The New Mexico National Guard was the first U.S. military unit to fight the Japanese, holding on for four months on Bataan, and then suffering through years in POW camps. The atomic bomb was developed at a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, and tested at a site near Alamogordo. Navajo code talkers helped provide bases from which B-29s bombed Japanese cities. Finally, several thousand Japanese Americans, classified by the FBI as dangerous enemy aliens, were interned in a camp near Santa Fe. These seemingly separate events were related through unique qualities of the arid, spacious land. The authors have now provided a voice for the previously silent heroes of these wartime events: Special Engineering Detachment (SED) enlisted men and women at Los Alamos who actually fabricated the atomic bomb, Navajo Marine privates, National Guard enlisted men, and Japanese American internees. Their stories, obtained through personal interviews by Rogers and Bartlit to supplement the historical record, illuminate the patriotism, human suffering, and humor in these important World War II events.
About the Author
EVERETT M. ROGERS, Ph.D., was Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. His special interest in intercultural communication is illustrated here in analyzing American/Japanese relationships, often occurring through barbed wire stockades or at the end of a gun. NANCY R. BARTLIT is a long-time community leader of Los Alamos, New Mexico, currently serving as President of the Los Alamos Historical Society. She studied and taught in Japan, and earned a BA degree in History from Smith College and a MA degree in Communication from the University of New Mexico.
Silent Voices of World War II: When Sons Of The Land Of Enchantment Met Sons Of The Land Of The Rising Sun,Everett M. Rogers,Nancy R. Bartlit,Sunstone Press,086534423X,20th century,History,History - Military / War,Military,Military - General,Military - World War II,Navajo Indians,New Mexico,Participation, Indian,World War, 1939-1945,World history: Second World War
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