Posted on 02/18/2002 4:05:49 PM PST by RCW2001
Japanese-Americans recall the pain of World War II internment 60 years later
Monday, February 18, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/02/18/state1949EST0101.DTL
(02-18) 16:49 PST SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) --
It's been 60 years, but the pain of destroying her mother's kimonos and anything else of Japanese origin still stings Betty Haruko Nishi. She remembers all too well how the federal government forced thousands of Japanese to give up their homes and businesses to live in internment camps during World War II.
"Everything happened so fast. My dad's new tractor, we had to leave behind. We couldn't take anything Japanese," Nishi, 72, told the San Jose Mercury News. "It was horrible."
President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order on Feb. 19, 1942, forcing about 120,000 Japanese-Americans -- many of them U.S. citizens living on the West Coast -- away from their homes, jobs and farms and into 10 internment camps.
The U.S. government did not formally apologize or make reparations to internment survivors until 1989.
Former internees say they hope a lesson was learned from their pain and that others aren't treated the same during America's war on terrorism.
"I hope the same thing doesn't happen to the Middle Easterners," said Dave Tatsuno, whose family was forced to sell their store's merchandise and move to Topaz in the Utah desert. "Most of them are innocent like we were. The country has to be careful to never again fall into the trap of condemning a people due to ancestry."
Nishi had just celebrated her 12th birthday with her family in Turlock when she was sent to a filthy assembly center in Merced with her parents, five brothers and sister. Nishi's mother went temporarily blind with stress, and her siblings got pneumonia and ulcers.
Four months later, they shared two stark rooms in Amanche, Colo., and watched many young men leaving the camps to fight for the United States overseas. Ultimately, the all-Japanese 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team suffered the highest casualty rate and became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.
"Looking back I remember the deep well of pain the experience caused my parents," Nishi said. "It is something that will always be in my heart."
Katie Hironaka, 82, also can't forget, even though she admits the camps -- in a strange way -- may have saved lives.
"What was done to us was wrong," said Hironaka, who was a new mother sent to Heart Mountain, Wyo., with her parents and brothers.
"And yet, there was so much prejudice and ignorance, who knows how many Japanese homes would have been burned, how many citizens would have been hurt or even killed if we had been around?" she said. "In that way it was good, and yet it was so terrible as well."
I never said the government was going after just the relatives. I said the reason that they all had to be interned was because it was their people that attacked. Relatives included. It's impossible to know who had relatives and friends and who didn't.
So which is it a select crowd or all?
All.
I did not say the founding fathers were immoral. I said that on the subject of slavery they were immoral as in used immoral judgement.
They did not use immoral judgment. They compromised, which is what you do in a Constitutional Republic.
So explain to me again that by saying the founding fathers were immoral on the subject of slavery, how that translates into not having any respect for the Constitution?
So you only like parts of it? That means you don't respect it.
So by your logic you are direspecting the Declaration of Independece by condoning the comprimise of people's inalienalbe rights.
The Declaration of Independence is a declaration, not a law. The Constitution is the law.
Does this mean by our founding father comprimising these rights that they too had no respect for the Declaration of Independece?
The Declaration of Independence is a delclaration of separation on the principles therein. The Constitution was the law that came after the separation. Some of the lawmakers couldn't get all they wanted, that doesn't mean they were immoral.
OK so now we again did not lock up all Japs just the ones on the west coast. The ones on the east coast near the nation's capitol we just let run free. Why would we not round up the ones near the nation's capitol if we were worried about sabotage?
The invasion was expected to be in California.
I mean isn't that a great place to do sabotage, considering the amount of intellegence that runs through a nations capitol during war time?
There wasn't much they could do without the help of their invading friends.
Also the story now is just so I'm straight is that it was not impractical to lock up Germans, just impractical to lock up all of them?
Yep. The world runs on what's possible, not what's impossible.
If there was no massive round-up of Japs then how did we get them to the camps?
Almost all were rounded up on the west coast. There are more states than just California. Why are you debating me if you don't even know the specifics of what happened and what the Constitution says?
Did they just show up and say "here I am lock me up please"? Surely we had to round them up didn't we? Exactly!
California is only one state. Not all Japs were rounded up.
Union generals detained people on suspiscion not skin color.
Yep, because suspicion was all they had. They couldn't differentiate between a loyalist and a southern sympathizer by skin color.
Now wait a minute, you said for me to ask my questions and you will answer. So why didn't you tell me about the people in modern America 2002 who are setting up Gas chambers and killing other races?
I never said there are people setting up gas chambers now.
I have not heard about this new epidemic in America today.
Where did I say there were gas chambers being set up?
So which are you prejudice or racist?
Everyone is prejudiced. Birds of a feather flock together. Drive around and you'll see.
Actually yes, the white people are the minority in my neighborhood. We live near the Latin buisness district and have many Latin people, Black people, and Arabs in our area (well at least until the gov't agrees with you and comes to round them up. Hopefully they don't mistake some of the Latin folk for Arab). We have our share of whites too.
But there is not an overwhelming majority of one kind.
Why wouldn't I want to live in Harlem, Chinatown, or the Arab community in Detroit, aren't we all Americans when you get right down to it?
Show me proof that you've moved to a slash-American community and I'll believe you're not prejudiced.
What do mean priests and rockstars are different and don't hang out? Are you saying that some rockstars don't go to church or pray? I thought we were all created equal? Are you trying to disrespect the Declaration of Independence again?
Are you saying that Kiss hangs out with Pat Robertson all the time?
I asked you who said American POW's were not tortured? I didn't ask about policies; and who in the hell in this nation would condone our POW's being tortured? So if one had nothing to do with the other why did you ping me to that thread?
We've been discussing this for a month now, I figured you were interested in this subject.
At least I'm not wishy-washy.
He's a persistant pest though. Hang in there it gets amusing after a while.
Why are you getting so upset then?
I don't like lawyer types.
I know you are going to get to it eventually so here let me help. < sarcasm on>You Steve should be ashamed of yourself for you are disrespecting the Constitution. < /sarcasm off>
Steve didn't say he disrespected the Constitution, you did.
He was only being a disrupter.
Go away, disrupter.
Then why are you getting so upset that you posted 4 of 5 times to answer my one post?
What Japanese American citizens were subjected to during WW2 is totally indefensible. Once a person becomes an American citizen and takes an oath of allegiance to this country, or is a citizen by birth, they should be treated with the assumption that they are loyal Americans. We never interred German Americans or Italian Americans. The only reason the Japanese were selected was a racial one.
It was wrong. Japanese American soldiers served with distinction in Europe at the same time their own families were in internment camps here in the U.S. Simply unforgiveable.
If you don't want replys, send e-mail.
Does everyone who posts on a thread indirectly talking to you?
Yes, that's what a discussion is.
I thought this was Jim Rob's forum? Wait, are you Jim Rob in disguise? Second of all why are you so upset you post the same thing twice?
A key misshit. You may think I'm perfect, but I'm not.
He's a disrupter.
Yep. True labels.
Give it time you will tell him, I'm just giving you a head start.
Tell him what?
What have I changed?
We most certainly did intern Germans and Italians.
Then down here you say all again but then you said just the ones on the west coast. Since you didn't answer my question I'll ask again. Did we just let Jap terrorists run around in our nation's capitol with the opportunity to do sabotage?
In a constitutional republic you comprimise people's inalienable rights that are guaranteed to them? Ok so you don't have any respect for the Declaration of Independence because it's not a law? Are you saying it means nothing, that it is worthless?
Oh I know what happened but it is quite obvious you are a little hazzy on the details. First you say we rounded up all Japs and no Germans, then we rounded up only the Jap relatives, then we again rounded up all the Japs again, then we only rounded up those on the west coast, and now rounded up Germans and Italians, even though it was impractical, then there was no round-up of Japs (I guess they just came willingly), then there was a round-up of the Japs. Back and forth and back again, the fun never stops.
Ohh new twist now only almost all were rounded up on the west coast. So we only got some, not all on the west coast?
I asked you: Are you telling me that America was not a more racist country in the 40's then it is today?
You responded:I don't remember gas chambers being set up to kill other races, so I would say that we weren't more racist.
So if we weren't more racist in the 40's because they weren't setting up gas chambers, then where in America today are we setting up gas chambers and killing other races, since that is what makes us a more racist country today?
Well since I don't live in New York, near any Chinatown, or Detroit how can I have been in a position to live there? I just told you I live in the Latin Buisness District. You need proof of residence to say whether someone is prejudice or not?
See you don't answer the question, you only talk about two specifics. I will ask again, are you saying that some rockstars do not pray or attend a church? I thought you said ask any question and you will answer? Why all the tap-dancing?
We are discussing American intern camps, not Jap POW camps. I don't think there is an American alive who thinks what the Japs did to Americans was right (except maybe Jane Fonda).
German-Americans and Italian-Americans were most certainly interned.
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