Discussion (8)¬

1. Fairportfan says:

   September 26, 2009 at 12:26 am

   Bill Mauldin told the story of meeting an Army Captain who had been sent around the West Coast on a PR tour by the War Department (as it still was) shortly after the end of WW2. The Captain (not of Japanese ancestrhimself) had been a lieutenant serving in one of the regiments cmposed of nisei.

   At one event, where he spoke before a group of fruit pickers, one of the audience asked if it was true them japs took heavy casualties. the Captain said yes, almost all of his men had Purple Hearts, and the death rate among the nisei was higher than among most other infantry units.

   “Too bad they didn’t kill ‘em all,” said Mr Exemplary Citizen.

   Mauldin said that, since he was there as an official representative of the Army and the War Department, he didn’t say anything in particular.

   “…but,” he said, “I’m getting discharged in a month or two, and I plan to come back here and look up guy and a few others like him…”

   Reply
   • Kevin Church says:

     September 28, 2009 at 11:29 am

     Thanks for the story, Fairportfan, as sad as it was. I’ve got a very close friend whose family was held in one of the camps and while I had an idea of how deeply embedded anti-Japanese racism in our country was, the stories I’ve heard about how people were treated on a day-to-day basis after the war are staggeringly depressing.

     Reply
2. InterceptorV8 says:

   September 26, 2009 at 12:57 am

   Man, I want to dig this comic, but, Bend OR looks nothing like this, and the county mounties, well, they aren’t Texan. Most bears running 97 do have CB in their cars, and yes, they do know how to talk to us drivers. I’m gonna play along for now.

   Reply
   • Kevin Church says:

     September 28, 2009 at 11:22 am

     Man, I want to dig this comic, but, Bend OR looks nothing like this, and the county mounties, well, they aren’t Texan. Most bears running 97 do have CB in their cars, and yes, they do know how to talk to us drivers. I’m gonna play along for now.

     Please note that the strip takes place 35+ years ago in a fictionalized version of Terrebonne, Oregon, not during the present day in Bend. But thank you for playing along!

     Reply
3. Dallas says:

   September 30, 2009 at 9:47 am

   Cool, I’ve never started reading a comic this early on in development. You’ve got me hooked already. Can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen.

   Reply
4. Rev.Smith says:

   November 16, 2009 at 5:43 am

   IntercepterV8 said “Bend Or looks nothing like this”

   I respectfully and partially disagree: parts nearby do match the silhouette of the rocky landscape. I’ve actually been impressed (& waiting to see Crooked River Bridge incorporated into the visuals ):

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonjazz/2292313587/
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortphoto/2842444033/
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/irisgoldsteinphotography/3931723698/
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowdey/3857621308/

   here’s “downtown” Bend in the early 70′s
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/postpenman/2997049199/

   Reply
5. Matthew J. Brady says:

   November 16, 2009 at 2:46 pm

   Well, crap, if it’s 35 years ago, that probably means nobody’s going to go skiing at Mt. Bachelor.

   Reply
6. T.J. Kirsch says:

   November 17, 2009 at 6:39 pm

   Thanks Rev. Smith for the comment and the great reference! My reference pics for the landscape have only been of Terrebonne, OR, by the way, guys.

   Reply