The Eagles of Heart Mountain: A True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America

Spring, 1942. The United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain. They faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, many established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators. Then in fall, 1943, the camp's high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. As the team's second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Parson profiles the team as teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions. -- adapted from jacket