Discharge Pin Symbol Analysis

Ichiro encounters a young Japanese-American waiter in a restaurant in Portland who is wearing a discharge pin on his shirt. This pin most explicitly means that the young man was honorably discharged from the United States military, and, during the war, it would have signaled that, although he was not fighting in the army, he had tried to. The pin serves as proof that this man is a veteran, and that he served his country, but the pin disturbs Ichiro. Although he understands the young man’s desire to prove that he has earned his place in America, he also knows the pin is only necessary because the young man looks Japanese, and he knows he will not be respected or treated as an American unless he has additional evidence of his dedication to his home. Ichiro is upset that the young man feels the need to assert himself this way. He believes every person should be treated with kindness and respect, and that if a person believes America is their home, others should accept this and treat them as citizens. Additionally, Ichiro is upset that Japanese Americans are having their Americanness questioned. After being discriminated against and sent to internment camps, although the majority of people had done nothing wrong, many young men were still loyal enough to America to enter its army. Despite this—being told they were not American, and then risking their lives for America—many men of Japanese descent still have their loyalty called into question. Ichiro recognizes that this sense that Japanese people are un-American is not based in fact or logic, instead, it is based in white supremacy and racism, and the belief that true Americans look a certain way, and immigrated only from certain countries.