“Banzai. The word rushes over me like a river. A memory of what we used to say on the streets of Japantown when we played at war. A memory we inherited from our fathers and their fathers, this word, this history, this giving of ourselves for the nation, for the emperor. Except now it's not for the emperor. I don't think, in this moment, that it's even for our nation. It's for us, our brothers, here, who have died on this hill and in dozens of battles before, for our families back home,in that dream-world of deserts and barbed wire, for our folks who had everything taken from them and still were asked for more: compliance, obedience, money, blood.” SadHeartbreaking Love Book:We Are Not Free Source: We Are Not Free
“We say nothing. We don't want to believe it either. We hold our breath, waiting for her to understand. Waiting for the news to strike like a lightning bolt. We watch laughter drain from her face. It leaves her eyes first, leaves them startled and black as moonless nights. Then her cheeks, which go pale, and her lips, which go slack. We're not joking. We wish we were.” SadHeartbreaking Love Book:We Are Not Free Source: We Are Not Free