Wear It Proudly: Letters by William Shinji Tsuchida - Paperback

by William Shinji Tsuchida (Author)

Wear It Proudly by Will Tsuchida offers an extraordinary first-hand account of war, identity, and loyalty through the letters of a Japanese American medic serving with the U.S. Seventh Army in Europe. Tsuchida, who enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor, joined Company I of the 71st Infantry--a unit so battered in its advance across southern France into Austria that it earned a presidential citation for valor. As a front-line aid man, Tsuchida lived with his hands in the blood of battle, tending to his comrades under fire. His letters, unpolished yet vividly immediate, capture the smell of cordite, the hollow fear in the pit of his stomach during an attack, the bonds of trust and affection among infantrymen, and the grief of separation from his unit. They recount not strategy or statistics but the raw, lived texture of combat--what it meant to be twenty-three, homesick, and carrying both stretcher and rifle.

The book's deeper resonance lies in the paradox of Tsuchida's experience: fighting courageously for a country that had stripped his family of property and civil rights during internment, he embodied both alienation and commitment. His correspondence reveals the intimate struggles of a Japanese American soldier navigating prejudice at home and mortal danger abroad, even as he and his fellow medics saved countless lives. Initially never intended for publication, these letters were preserved by family and friends who recognized their historical and human significance. Wear It Proudly is both documentary and deeply personal--an invaluable record of World War II combat life and a moving testament to resilience, sacrifice, and belonging. It will speak to readers of military history, Asian American studies, and all who seek to understand the lived costs of war.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1947.