In her books and other productions, Rachel Maddow presents strong profiles of people who find their places in history as either villains or heroes. In past works she compares felon Spiro Agnew with principled Elliott Richardson (“Bag Man”); oil tycoons with environmentalists (“Blow Out”); and America First fascists with supporters of democracy (“Ultra/Prequel”).
In her latest work, “Burn Order,” Maddow examines the incarceration of Japanese people and Americans of Japanese ancestry in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor that began America’s participation in the Second World War. Once again, she cuts through both-sides-ism and whitewashing to reveal who are the bad guys and the good people in historic eras.
Maddow’s revelations start with the heroic efforts of Navy intelligence officer then-Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Ringle. Ringle determined and reported that people of Japanese ancestry living in the United States presented no threat to the war effort against Imperial Japan
History proved him right.
During the war, U.S. Navy Captain Ringle (pictured above) commanding the USS Wasatch (AGC-9) in the South Pacific in 1945 during World War II. He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral upon his retirement. His path before, during, and after the war is a brilliant example of patriotism.
On the other side of the ledger, Maddow’s “Burn Order” continues with the misguided work of Army officers Lt. Gen. John DeWitt and Maj. Robin Bendetsen, who ignored Ringle’s report and carried out cruel and harmful incarceration of families at various concentration camps mostly in western states.
Bendetsen is revealed as the brains behind DeWitt’s “jittery” strategy and tactics that bordered on paranoid fantasies and fear of sabotage. DeWitt harbored and promoted bizarre conspiracy theories publicly and within his chain of command.
DeWitt (above) testified to members of Congress in April 1943, warning no Japanese Americans could be trusted because “a Jap’s a Jap.” He told San Francisco officials he thought it might be a good thing if San Francisco got bombed by Japan, in order to “awaken this city.”
Both DeWitt and his Stephen Miller-like advisor Bendetsen earned their places in history even though both escaped personal accountability.
Some white Americans protected the property of their Japanese neighbors who were incarcerated. Sadly, other white Americans were not as heroic and greedily took over belongings, businesses, and farmland.
As evidence, Maddow provides numerous newspaper clips, letters, and photographs on the MS NOW site for “Burn Order.”
An inspirational heart of Maddow’s story is the dedicated efforts of one individual, in particular: Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga.
Aiko (above) spent countless hours at the National Archives researching records of the government’s incarceration. She eventually discovered documents that revealed the Army based their actions on racism while ignoring evidence contrary to their scheme and then trying to cover up their crimes against the Constitution.
In 1981, Lawyer and researcher Peter Irons uncovered key U.S. government memos revealing the suppression of evidence and destruction of documents related to the 1940s policy of mass incarceration of Japanese Americans. He partnered with Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga to bring about justice for people unlawfully rounded up and put in concentration camps.
When President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to acknowledge federal wrongdoing, it was an official apology for the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans in the 1940s. Reagan described the incarceration as a “grave wrong” against the Constitution.
Listening to the “Burn Order” podcast prompted further exploration of the heroes, villains, and victims of this era in American history and their own places in history.
New on our Navy Reads to-read list now are books such as “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration,” edited by Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung (Penguin Classics, 2024),“Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration” by Elizabeth Partridge and Lauren Tamaki (Chronicle Books, 2022), and “Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese American Internment Cases” by Peter Irons (Oxford University Press, 1983).
Speaking of places in history ... Yesterday, Maddow headed a two-hour special about public testimony by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith regarding the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt by Donald Trump and his supporters. Clear in his testimony: Capitol Police and other uniformed personnel, along with those on the side of law, order, and accountability are on the right side of the ledger.
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