“I still find it hard to believe that 500,000 Hispanics served as
part of the 16 million who served in uniform despite being only
1.5% of the general population.”
I can’t really speak to the actual demographics.
But while living in Los Angeles during the past decade or so,
I maybe read The Los Angeles Times (for opposition research!)
two or three times a week, at the most.
BUT, more than a few times there were obituaries of Hispanic/Latinos
and Japanese-Americans...and some pretty FREAKIN’ UNBELIEVABLE
accounts of their service in WWII.
As I said, I don’t know about the strict demographics of the service
of these sectors of American society.
But I can say that in the north-central area of Oklahoma my father grew
up in, military service was virtually “de rigeur” for the Indians
(oops, “Native Americans”) that he grew up with, mostly Tonkawas
and Poncas.
“That which we gain too easily, we value too lightly — it is dearness alone that gives a thing its value.” — Thomas Paine
Not infrequently, it is the convert who is the most fervent believer, and the immigrant who is the most ardent patriot. Because what they fight for is something they had to gain, not a birthright. They do not have the luxury of taking it for granted.
No specific comments on the show — I’ve DVRed it, and will watch tomorrow, when I can give it undivided attention. I’m near bed and distracted right now.
My point on the Latinos has more to do with the prism that Burns views life through, including WWII. It is all about groups and people as victims. And more often than not, he spends more time and emphasis on these small groups without putting their role into context. It mirrors what is now being taught in our school history books. George Washington may get a line and George Washington Carver a paragraph. It is all part of multiculturalism and revisionist history.
In terms of the numbers, if the US had 130 million people prior to WWII and Latinos were 1.5%, that works out to 1,950,000 Latinos. If approximately half of them are women, that leaves about 1 million males of all ages. Even allowing the fact that some women served, I just don't buy the assertion that 500,000 American-Latinos served in uniform in WWII.
The internment of Japanese-Americans was not one of our best moments, but it involved primarily Japanese living on the West Coast. Some German and Italian Americas were also interned. Some of it had to do with the fear of espionage and some had to do with protecting people from possible reprisal. A sad chapter, but why make it the lead in the opening of the series or at least put it into historical context?