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Playlist: Pearl Harbor

Compiled By: PRX Editors

 Credit:
Curated Playlist

The anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor is Dec. 7.

Below are picks chosen by PRX editorial staff. You can see all potential pieces by using our search.

Unbroken Promise

From Levingston Lewis | 06:39

For over 70 years, Sailors of the Pearl Harbor attacks have been unidentifiable. The Defense POW/MIA accounting agency is part of the effort to identify these missing Sailors and ultimately bring them back home.

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For over 70 years, Sailors of the Pearl Harbor attacks have been unidentifiable.
The Defense POW/MIA accounting agency is part of the effort to identify these missing
Sailors and ultimately bring them back home.

National Debt

From Robin Amer | 20:30

Two survivors of Japanese American internment describe how they went from being seen as model citizens to being seen as the enemy. In the story of their fight for financial reparations they tackle the question: how do you repay someone when what’s been taken is their basic human dignity?

Playing
National Debt
From
Robin Amer

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After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. rounded up 120,000 people of Japanese decent and put them in internment camps. Nearly two-thirds of them were American citizens. Years later the U.S. government would apologize and pay reparations to people who had been held in the camps, but it took decades for that happen.

In this story, Chiye Tomihiro and Sam Ozaki, two survivors of internment, describe how they went from being seen as model citizens to being seen as the enemy, and how they fought to get what was owed to them after the country admitted its mistake.  They tackle the question: how do you pay someone back when what’s been taken away is their  basic human dignity?

This piece was produced as a collaboration between Robin Amer and Jesse Seay, and narrated by Jesse.

The Tragedy of Bataan (Series)

Produced by Jan Thompson

The Tragedy of Bataan (buh-tan)... - narrated by Alec Baldwin and Produced and written by film maker Jan Thompson. The Philippine Islands were attacked shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Most recent piece in this series:

Part Five-The Night Before The Surrender

From Jan Thompson | Part of the The Tragedy of Bataan series | 06:38

Surrender1small_small The final segment describes the fall of Bataan and those who were able to escape to Corregidor Island. Interviews are with: Art Campbell, Ralph Levenberg, Nurse Eunice Tyler, Jim Collier, Frank Bigelow, Wesley Holden, and Jim Collier. Diary excerpts from Albert Brown.

Weenie Royale; The Impact of the Internment on Japanese Cooking in America

From The Kitchen Sisters | Part of the Hidden Kitchens series | 09:18

After Pearl Harbor, about 120,000 Japanese Americans were uprooted and forced to live for years in remote federal camps around the country. The upheaval of internment changed the traditional Japanese diet.

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This historical Hidden Kitchen comes from the memories and kitchens of the Japanese Americans uprooted from the west coat and forcibly relocated inland  after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In camps like Manzaner, Topaz, Tule Lake some 120,000 internees lived for four years in remote and desolate locations—their traditional food replaced by US government commodities and war surplus—hotdogs, ketchup, spam, potatoes—changing the traditional Japanese diet and family table. 

Pearl Harbor Veteran Jim Peacock Remembers

From Curt Nickisch | 09:02

Jim Peacock is one of only a few dozen U.S. veterans who witnessed both the beginning of World War II at Pearl Harbor and the war's end on deck the U.S.S. Missouri. He remembers December 7, 1941: "You knew what destruction really was."

Jim-peacock-greg-latza-prx_small Jim Peacock is one of only a few dozen U.S. veterans who witnessed both the beginning of World War II at Pearl Harbor and the war's end on deck the U.S.S. Missouri. He remembers December 7, 1941: "You knew what destruction really was."

Japanese-American granddaughter questions internment

From MPR News Stations | Part of the MPR News' Youth Series series | 06:43

Mara Kumagai Fink explores her family's experiences in the internment camps during WWII. Mara spent the summer interviewing family members and revisiting the camps with them. She wondered "Why am I angrier about it than they are?"

Mara_resized_small Mara Kumagai Fink, a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN set out on a quest to interview surviving family members who spent years in internment camps during WWII. Growing up, Mara's grandmother had told her that the internment was "fine." Mara didn't believe her. She visited the camps to piece together what life was like and the disruption it caused in their lives. She struggles to understand why she feels angrier than her relatives seem to.

Mara's grandfather worked for the military intelligence so he was free to come and go from the camps recruiting soldiers while his family was locked inside. This fall Congress is expected to approve Congressional Gold Medals for those Japanese Americans, including Mara's grandfather, who helped the war effort. 

Battleship Missouri Memorial

From Heidi Chang | 05:06

The Battleship Missouri is best known as the site where World War II officially ended on Sept. 2, 1945. Veterans share tales about the ship, nicknamed the "Mighty Mo," and celebrate its arrival in Pearl Harbor, where it is now a floating museum.

Shipfromwater1_small Veterans commemorate the arrival of the USS Missouri in Hawaii and reflect on why it is one of the world's most famous battleships.  This piece also includes audio from General Douglas MacArthur's historic speech on the ship's deck, where Japan formally surrendered to the Allied Powers in Tokyo Bay. 

Note: Good piece to air on Sept. 2, when an annual ceremony takes place on the ship to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II.

Since this story aired, the "Mighty Mo" has become a floating museum and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.  Visitors from around the world come to walk the ship's deck and step back into history. 

"Battleship Missouri Memorial" won the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter's Excellence in Journalism Award for Public Service Reporting in 1999.

Norman Corwin, Writer-Director From Radio's Golden Age

From Katy Sewall | 49:32

Norman Corwin is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest writer–director–producer's of radio's Golden Age. Radio educator, Tony Palermo, says that not knowing Corwin's work is like never having heard of Shakespeare. Producer Katy Sewall sat down with Norman Corwin right after his 100th birthday and brings you this sound-rich exploration of his work and influence.

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Radio's Golden Age is over, but many names from that era are still famous today. You probably know Jack Benny and Orson Wells, but are you familiar with Norman Corwin? 

Norman Corwin is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest writer–director–producer's of radio's Golden Age.  Radio educator Tony Palermo says that not knowing Corwin's work is like never having heard of Shakespeare. 

In this special, get to know Corwin's work, and how his writing shaped the way citizens of the United States felt about World War II. Producer Katy Sewall sat down with Norman Corwin right after his 100th birthday.