“The Patriot” [March] reports that retired U.S. Army colonel Ed Wakayama tells his audiences, “The United States was also at war with Germany and Italy; why weren’t German Americans and Italian Americans imprisoned, too? The answer is simple . . . money and prejudice.”

First, German Americans and Italian Americans were interned. Second, it was not about money and prejudice, but about one thing: The German Americans, Italian Americans, and Japanese Americans interned were of the nationality of the enemy.

For the record, almost 11,000 German Americans were interned. Thousands were deported, including American-born infants and children, and exchanged with our enemy, Hitler’s Third Reich.

— Arthur D. Jacobs
Tempe, Arizona

Jacobs, a retired U.S. Air Force major born in Brooklyn, New York, says he was a World War II internee at age twelve.

I thought “The Patriot” was an incredibly well-written and thorough article.

It provides a deep and often disturbing look at our country’s past treatment of immigrants, but also offers much inspiration—and, hopefully, lessons learned for the future, especially in light of all the new homeland security legislation.

As a master’s in social work candidate at Simmons College, I’m currently taking a course in racism and oppression, and these messages really hit home.

Thank you for a great piece, and hearty congratulations to Ed Wakayama for living a successful and inspirational life.

— Elyse (Schwartz) Pipitone, AS’89
Everett, Massachusetts