(I am) A Real American

About the Book

Bob Kan is a third generation Japanese-American (JA). The chapters in this book were originally written for family and close friends for their information and entertainment. After Bob joined the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) in 2007, he began to realize that his career would not have been possible without the heroism of those second generation veterans.  They demonstrated their patriotism and loyalty in battles across Europe and Asia, proving that they were REAL AMERICANS. Their sacrifices enabled Bob to be accepted and integrated years later into the elite world of Air Force combat fighter pilots. Realizing that he was part of this evolution, Bob decided to publish these chapters.

In WW II, the highest-ranking JA officer was Major. Since the Vietnam War over 35 JAs have attained the rank of general or admiral. There were no JA pilots or navigators in WW II, and there were relatively few in the Korean War.  All military units were desegregated by the time Bob entered the Air Force in 1955. He writes that he did not experience any racial discrimination in his fifty or so years in the USAF, working with our defense industry or in any private business.

This is not a racial protest, but there are stories about ethnic misconceptions, often humorous.

The Japanese Americans’ story is part of American History.

Only in America......

About the Author

     Bob is a 3^rd Generation Japanese-American (JA)  born and raised in Hawaii. As a 7-year-old, Bob told his Mom he wanted to be a pilot. As a nine-year old, he witnessed Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Bob was selling newspapers on the streets of Honolulu to soldiers and sailors, many in Hawaii on their way to fight the enemy forces in the Pacific, while Japanese American volunteers were fighting and dying in European battles as part of the 442nd and 100th infantry units to prove that they were, indeed, REAL AMERICANS, loyal to the United States even though their ethnicity was that of an enemy nation. Many served while their families were incarcerated by the US government behind barbed wire in the deserts of Utah and Arizona. Those heroic soldiers did pave the way for succeeding generation JAs like Bob to obtain his pilot wings and eventually earn the rank of Colonel, USAF, without prejudice. He became a jet pilot instructor and subsequently flew 168 combat missions in the F4C Phantom. In 1965 Bob was shot down over North Vietnam and rescued by a helicopter. In 1972 he was assigned as one of the first Japanese-American Fighter Squadron Commanders in the USAF. During his military career, he befriended and worked with the Israeli, Australian, UK, Japanese and Korean Air Forces. Bob’s background led to interesting international ventures after his retirement from active duty Air Force that exceeded his imagination or expectations. For five years he worked in the Middle East with Koreans, Arabs and Europeans and was later a Managing Director of McDonnell-Douglas Korea in Seoul, Korea. He is now on an extended coffee break.