Documentary Screening - Honor & Sacrifice

Award-Winning Documentary in Honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month: Honor & Sacrifice

Join filmmakers Lucy Ostrander and Don Sellers for Honor & Sacrifice, a 28-minute historical documentary intended to illuminate the little-known experience of Japanese Americans who had family living in Japan during World War II. Roy Matsumoto's story embodies that experience, providing a compelling narrative that engages the audience while helping them to understand the greater historical context and significance. Roy, a true American hero, fought behind Japanese lines with the famed American guerilla unit, Merrill's Marauders, while he had three brothers fighting for the Japanese and his parents were living in their ancestral home, Hiroshima.

The film, narrated by Roy's daughter Karen, interweaves three stories of the Japanese American experience: the first large immigration to the United States in the early part of the 20th century; the widespread incarceration of Japanese Americans by the U.S. government during the war; and the extraordinary sacrifices required to prove loyalty to country while having close family in enemy lands. Many Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) did not talk about their experience, and in Roy's case, he was ordered to keep his military intelligence work a secret for 50 years. Roy will be 101 on May 1 and we are fortunate enough that he was able to share his story. Roy's daughter Karen will join us for the screening.