An Undergraduate Thesis

 Where I am .. Academically?

Up till a couple days ago, I have to admit that my blogging has not been up to the vigor that it should be. Ive been inconsistant and have gone months without a single upload. I can only imagine that thousands of my imaginary followers have been fed up with this behavior and have no doubt moved onto to other blogs about historian, amateur photographers/ cartoonist lifeguards. For those that stuck around.. thank you :)

My Inspiration: 
The new portion of my blogging will now be occupied by documenting the ongoing research and progress of my thesis. Last quarter I decided, that rather than taking a one quarter seminar to finish my degree, I would instead write a 40 page thesis on a topic of my choosing. Why would I enact such a punishment on myself?  A good question, since the seminar is much easier and fulfills the same Senior  graduation requirement. I chose to take up this torch from inspiration sparked during a class I took with a Pacific Asia Historian, Prof. Alan Christy


Nagamine Project

The class was called the Japanese Empire and took on a more experimental/new approach to upper division history.  It relied upon passionate students to take up their own research within different subjects. However rather than just explaining dates and pictures, we were given a foundation, with in the story of a former Imperial Japanese soldier, Mr. Akira Nagamine. The story he told us in class allowed for us to see a first hand visual of the Empire of Japan and thus have a better starting point in constructing what exactly we needed to know in order to tell the story better. This interview and primary source heavy approach to history made us feel like real historians.. because we were. Rather than just spitting back information in essay form, we were allowed to follow our own leads under the grand purpose of making a multi-media website that would tell Mr. Nagamine's story.

 The freedom Prof. Christy's class provided allowed us to explore many different forms of primary source, and inspired me to tackle the mysterious of my own grandfathers WWII experience on Wake Island. Bringing different historical pieces to Prof. Christy and later our archival assistant Tosh Tanaka, I became increasingly impassioned to pursue further research on my own grandfathers experience. I'd never considered writing a thesis on anything but given my connection to the subject, the historical documents and pieces I had already, I had to go for it.



      The Japanese Empire class made me refocus myself on what originally drew me into history. The story of my grandfather and his experiences as a prisoner or the Japanese made me feel a connection to events that happened in the past. Since my grandfather passed away when I was around five years old his experience on Wake Island became intertwined with what memories I had of him. Now being in college I have been looking at my grandfather from a academic stance, in the larger picture of my family and history.

  
Refocusing on Wake Island:


   Ive boiled down why I feel this story needs to be researched to the following:  Clyndon Dollar was a civilian plumber working on a island he'd never heard of for a war that was coming more rapidly than anyone expected. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor they 


also begin a bombing campaign on Wake. After nearly a month of bombing the Japanese take Wake Island. Clyndon Dollar is placed in a prison camp where he survives brutal conditions as a slave laborer in China and then Japan.  My questions becomes, What conditions allow for an American citizen to be  placed within that situation and what policies were in place (if any) to ensure their safety? Im sure many Americans are unaware or hadn't considered this circumstance, however, the fact that the Federal Government had to deal with this situation is unprecedented in US history.

The other point is found is in the post war story. After WWII many soldiers come home with psychological damage from war and imprisonment. The 1,200 civilian on Wake Island were just as equally susceptible to damage, yet are treated differently from the returning soldiers, in eyes of the federal government. Again we see an unprecedented situation that the Federal Government is forced to deal with.

     

    The nature of this story seems to get its value from the uniqueness of the government's role and I really feel it will be a good direction to follow. I'm optimistic that I will be able to finish this thesis and do justice to the civilian internees of Wake. Already Ive interviewed my own Uncles,  Aunts, and even some survivors themselves.  I'll give a summary of my findings in my next post.










"When the god's of war are released, men can not be faulted for their actions."

-Clyndon F. Dollar