Uprooted: Chapter 5

by Albert Marrin
In this meticulously researched book, Albert Marrin contextualizes the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II within the broader history of racial prejudice in the United States.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Prologue–Chapter 1, Chapters 2–3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapters 6–7
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. menial
    relating to unskilled work, especially domestic work
    In practice, however, most remained in uniform, though removed from combat units, disarmed, and assigned to menial tasks like cleaning latrines.
  2. linguist
    a specialist in the study of language
    Three officers were ordered to locate Nisei soldiers qualified to serve as linguists.
  3. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    To their dismay, the officers found that the young Nisei knew little Japanese.
  4. coherent
    marked by an orderly and consistent relation of parts
    Hardly any could speak a few coherent sentences, let alone read and write, in Japanese.
  5. mania
    an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
    “The Japanese,” an American officer noted, “seem to have a mania for putting things down on paper and hanging on to old documents.”
  6. lull
    calm by deception
    To make matters worse, Japan’s military leaders had lulled themselves with their own racial myths.
  7. relinquish
    part with a possession or right
    After a battle, victors invited the defeated to join their side. The defeated that chose not to relinquished their weapons and went home, having given their word of honor to sit out the rest of the war.
  8. sully
    make dirty or spotty
    The Field Service Code, the Japanese soldier’s handbook, left no doubt about his duty: “Do not endure the shame of being made a prisoner while alive; die and do not leave behind the sullied name of one who foundered and fell.”
  9. founder
    fail utterly; collapse
    The Field Service Code, the Japanese soldier’s handbook, left no doubt about his duty: “Do not endure the shame of being made a prisoner while alive; die and do not leave behind the sullied name of one who foundered and fell.”
  10. dregs
    the most worthless or undesirable part of something
    The victors mocked their American prisoners as...the filthy dregs of a corrupt nation.
  11. tepid
    moderately warm
    When I thought I could stand the penetrating heat no longer, I was determined to have a sip of the tepid water in my canteen.
  12. canteen
    a flask for carrying water; used by soldiers or travelers
    When I thought I could stand the penetrating heat no longer, I was determined to have a sip of the tepid water in my canteen.
  13. correspondent
    a journalist who supplies stories for news media
    War correspondent Edgar L. Jones wrote, “We shot prisoners in cold blood, wiped out hospitals, strafed lifeboats....”
  14. strafe
    attack from above with machine guns or cannon fire
    War correspondent Edgar L. Jones wrote, “We shot prisoners in cold blood, wiped out hospitals, strafed lifeboats....”
  15. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    Life printed a full-page “Picture of the Week” showing a young woman gazing wistfully...
  16. furlough
    a temporary leave of absence, especially from military duty
    The solution: For each prisoner brought in alive, reward his captor with a three-day furlough away from the front lines and a pint of ice cream from the supply ships offshore.
  17. incentive
    a positive motivational influence
    This incentive worked, and interrogation soon became a Nisei specialty.
  18. interrogation
    formal systematic questioning
    This incentive worked, and interrogation soon became a Nisei specialty.
  19. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    After a battle, Nisei searched the pockets and packs of the enemy dead, grisly work...
  20. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Though the Marauders were in top physical shape, nothing had prepared them for the ordeal that lay ahead.
  21. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    During another attack, the Japanese began to waver and fall back.
  22. knack
    a special way of doing something
    Another Nisei, Herbert Miyasaki, General Merrill’s personal interpreter (he later named his son Merrill), had a knack for getting information out of captured Japanese officers.
  23. devise
    arrange by systematic planning and united effort
    Secretly, they devised the “Z-Plan,” which called for using nearly all of Japan’s remaining naval forces to ambush the invasion fleet.
  24. invoke
    summon into action or bring into existence
    Kubo appealed to their sense of honor, invoking the ancient code of Bushido.
  25. filial
    relating to or characteristic of or befitting an offspring
    Kubo then recited a traditional Japanese saying: “If I am filial, I cannot serve the emperor. If I serve the emperor, I cannot be filial.”
  26. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Bertha Dworsky said they “looked like giants to us because we were so emaciated and thin.”
  27. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    Though defeat loomed, Japan’s military rulers refused to give up.
  28. fanatical
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    Though some fanatical officers wanted to fight to the last, Emperor Hirohito refused to back them.
  29. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    I had come to loathe and despise these people, but this was almost too much. I began to feel sorry for them.
  30. subside
    wear off or die down
    Already the thirst for vengeance had begun to subside.
  31. discombobulate
    cause to be confused emotionally
    So as not to “discombobulate” (his term) whites, he wished to scatter “Japanese people from Japan who are citizens” throughout the country.
  32. pidgin
    a simplified language allowing communication between groups
    “Go for Broke,” the regiment’s motto, was a pidgin Hawaiian phrase popularized by gamblers for “shoot the works.”
  33. maul
    injure badly
    The 100th was so badly mauled at Monte Cassino that only 521 of its original 1,432 men were fit for duty when the battalion was pulled out of combat.
  34. grope
    search blindly or uncertainly
    I was groping for my English, actually wanting to fall on my knees and kiss his feet.
  35. noble
    having high or elevated character
    No tributes have ever been so well deserved, or so nobly earned, as those given Munemori and his fellow Yankee samurai.
Created on Mon Sep 10 21:06:40 EDT 2018 (updated Fri May 28 12:29:38 EDT 2021)

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