Defining Courage: an immersive experience about the Nisei soldier that you will never forget

By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

David Ono didn’t start out with the intention to make a show. What began as a keynote speech in 2019 developed into a full-blown immersive experience about the Nisei soldier in World War II. 

“Defining Courage” comes to Seattle on April 11. Do not let the fact that the venue is on campus at the University of Washington (UW)’s Meany Hall give you the wrong idea. This is not a lecture. But it is history. This is not a documentary. But it will show you true stories and places that were part of the Nisei soldier experience during the war. According to Ono, an Emmy award-winning film maker and news anchor at ABC7-Los Angeles, “Defining Courage” is part-journalism, part-entertainment, and part-theater. To those involved, it is a necessity in the mission to ensure we don’t forget the bravery of those men, nor the Japanese immigration experience. 

Dale Watanabe, Commander, Nisei Veterans Committee.

Just like the Navajo Code-Talkers, just like the Tuskegee Airmen, “This is an American story that needs to be told,” said Dale Watanabe, commander of the Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) in Seattle. Now a show that tours in different cities across the nation, “Defining Courage” is presented by the nonprofit, Story Boldly, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), and Outside In Theatre. Additional support comes from local and national organizations, such as NVC, that help fundraise and promote the show, and provide historical information as needed. 

“Defining Courage” tells the legacy of the segregated units of the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Military Intelligence Service, and the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion. The Nisei in these units are considered to be some of the greatest fighters in the history of the American military, and all were Americans of Japanese ancestry. Ono, at times with JANM director of collections management and access and curator, Kristen Hayashi, visited the actual battlefields in Italy and France where these soldiers fought. 

David Ono and Kristen Hayashi revisit a WWII battlefield. (Photo credit: Dylan Glockler/Story Boldly.)

The immersive, engaging, and emotional show will “introduce you to real life heroes,” Ono said. “Many of whom didn’t survive the war.” With Ono as narrator, you will go deep into the layered experience of these Nisei. You will feel their commitment, their sense of sacrifice, and their selflessness, Ono said. Hayashi, whose great uncle was a Nisei soldier in the war, explained that “Defining Courage” gives the audience a sense of the context, where the soldiers speak for themselves, in their own words.” They tell their own histories. Because Ono and Hayashi were on the ground in Europe, you get a feel for the real environment of the war that is unprecedented.

“I don’t want it to be a history lesson,” Ono said. “I want it to be inspiring to our current world and current lives.” Ono advises us to use the example of the Nisei soldier as inspiration to handle today’s complicated world. “We need an enormous amount of courage to speak up and do the right thing,” he added. “These guys did that and beyond.” Each iteration of the show adapts to the location, so in this case, there will be at least one story about a Nisei from Washington state: Medal of Honor recipient Jamese Okubu. This is part of where the Watanabe and the NVC come in, as resources and volunteers leading up to the performance. Watanabe recalls multiple people telling him, “You have got to bring this show to Seattle.” They settled on Meany Hall because it is the same location where they held the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in 2012 for those Nisei soldiers who couldn’t go to Washington, D.C. Organizers at UW did not want to miss the chance to be a part of this related and impactful experience, Watanabe said.

“It’s so important for us to remember history and what happened back then, so we don’t repeat it,” Watanabe said. And yet, as a nation, we do repeat it, he believes, when there is not a person in power willing to put a stop to harmful policies based on race or ethnicity. Kids today didn’t grow up learning about the Nisei soldier in the same way that people like Watanabe, a Sansei, did. “It’s a book, or a picture on the wall,” he said. “Defining Courage” makes it vivid, makes it real. Seattle’s iteration of the show will spotlight those Japanese living on Bainbridge Island at the time, such as the family of Watanabe’s mother’s, who were the first to be incarcerated during the war.

David Ono narrates “Defining Courage.” (Photo credit: Mike Palma/Story Boldly)

It’s very unlikely that anyone who watches “Defining Courage” will leave with dry eyes. Those who attend will experience a uniquely emotional and immersive journey—and maybe for the last time in our area, as Ono plans to “retire” the show at the end of this year. Nevertheless, Ono hopes that this will be a beginning, not an end. What started out as a relatively small event has turned into a full-fledged performance, with original music by Grammy-winner Daniel Ho, the RAISE Choir, and Harold Payne; video that transports the audience to WWII battlefields; and eyewitness accounts, interviews, and footage that bring the stories of the Nisei soldier to life.

“They saw it as a way to prove their loyalty to the United States,” Watanabe said. 

For information on “Defining Courage,” visit https://definingcourageshow.com. 

For those who wish to further their education and understanding of the pivotal role of the Nisei soldier in WWII, as well as other aspects of the Japanese American immigration experience, Watanabe suggests a visit to the NVC’s military museum. Tours are offered. On Memorial Day, the NVC and NVC Foundation will host their annual service at Lake View Cemetery to honor Japanese American and other veterans who gave their lives in service to this country.

Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.