Japanese-Americans Recall The Pain Of World War II Internment 60 Years Later

Associated Press / SFGate

[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."

[Noslrac]

My grandfather who was a POW in the philipines and made it through working as a slave in coal mines for japanese companies still around and other nice places, as well as surviving the bataan death march didn't get any reparations. I doubt these people had it that tough.

Noslrac

[glc1173@aol.com]

Their internment just meant that Japanese-Americans weren't getting shot at in malarial swamps by their ethnic kinsmen like other Americans were. What a "deprivation."

[tubebender]

My best friend from 1951 to 54 was Masao S . He and his parents went to the camp at Alturas from the Fresno area where Jim Rob rules this forumn. Masao became a CPA and his brother returned to farming. I had 2 brothers 1 sister and both brother in laws in the Service.

[JimSEA]

My neighbor's family lost everything in Seattle and was placed in a camp. He, just getting out of highschool enlisted and fought through the Italian campaign and the Battle of the Buldge. Pretty soft, huh.

[07055]

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.

Time to move on, Betty. The statute of limitations for whining expired some time ago.

Despite what the news media tries to convince us, most of the internees were *not* United States citizens. They were Japanese nationals.

Betty has already been compensated more than my father was for fighting her countrymen, who would have raped the United States just like they raped Nanking if we had lost the war.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

boo hoo hoo. you got shipped away . . . at least you weren't shipped away, gassed, and sent to the ovens OR sitting in downtown Hiroshima when a certain drop was dropped. You should thank God that it wasn't worse.

Death to whining!

[Howie66]

I suppose that we should all be all broken up about this, right?

Unless I've missed something, I still have yet to hear so much as an apology from the JAP Government. Until such time as we get that, the JAPS can KMA.

Long Live "CHESTY" PULLER!!!

[Arleigh]

"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."

This relentless barrage of news stories to make us feel empathy for Middle Easterners is starting to reek of a premeditated, government-instigated propaganda campaign.

Am I the only person who's feeling a trifle manipulated?

[07055]

Am I the only person who's feeling a trifle manipulated?

You may be right about it being an organized campaign---but I don't think it is coming from the government.

The issue of Japanese internees is one of those things that the media never seems to tire of covering. It's in the same class as "blacklisting victims from the McCarthy Era."

The media never seems to find space to tell us about the Bataan Death March, the Japanese POW camps, or the communists who really were in the goverment---but they always have room for stories about pitiful Japanese internees and "victims of McCarthyism."

[breakem]

You're an idiot. You don't raise the esteem of your family, by doubting the suffering of these people. My secretary's family was ordered off their family farm. They got the 20 or $30,000 for the three of them. Total value of the farm land (now housing development) the year of the reparations $1.1 million.

[breakem]

you're an a$%hole. These people are not JAPS, they were americans. Use a lifeline and get a clue.

[cynicom]

I tire of the whining by the Japanese-americans. Om Dec 7, three of the same had the choice of being Americans or Japanese, they chose to aid their brethern. You will never hear or see them mention this, never. The three betrayed their adopted country.

[Snowyman]

And what about the 70 thousand internees that were native born American,also known as American citizens:?

Or the 100th which had the dubious distinction of being called the "Purple Heart Battalion" because almost everyone who served in the 100th had at least one Purple Heart. Like the Tuskeegee Airmen, the 100th Battalion/ 442nd Regimental Combat Team had to fight two wars,one in Europe and one at home.

“At full strength the 442nd only numbered 4,500 men, but this unit earned over 3,900 individual decorations.”

[TEXICAN II]

Just too bad that many lost property & money. The obvious need for this justifiable act of self-preservation is blemished by this. The horrific abuse & deaths of our troops in Japanese captivity certainly made it hard to reconsider what happened. I think the passage of time & especially the passing of our veterans actually makes the discussion possible-survivors of Battan are hard pressed to feel sorry for people who only lost a farm or store & went away to camp for the duration. Those wonderful guys who went to Italy & fought so bravely are an entirely different matter-I've met a couple of them & they are just as special as any other veteran of WWII. Individuals make mistakes & so might entire nations-but I don't enjoy the idiotic whinning-self-respecting people get on with their lives.

My dad had some scarry tales of mob violence in Houston,Tx in reaction to Pearl Harbor-thus he was of the opinion the removals were also intended to protect the Japanese-Americans. Have no idea if he was correct.

[cynicom]

Snow...

I am well aware of what was done by the unit you refer too. Are you aware of the Niihau affair on Dec 7 1941??? This affair prompted FDR to issue his EO. The Japanese-Americans refuse to ever mention the betrayal of the Japanese living in the Islands.

[Classicaliberalconservative]

No they were getting shot in the freezing forests of Europe instead. The reason that the internmment was wrong was that it stigmatized an entire group of Americans because of their race. Sure the some fo the Issei and Nissei were scum but many fought valiantly for the United States. And I do not see how children like Norman Mineta and George Tekei were security risks.

[Classicaliberalconservative]

The soldiers of the Japanese Empire did this. The Japanese murdered many people in the land of my ancestors and leveled the properties of one side of my family. However the Japanese in the U.S. had no part in this.

[cynicom]

Does anyone here remember seeing pictures of Japanese-Philippinos with their armbands on, greeting the invading Japanese, in 1941???? Bet not...They lined up with their brethern nearly to a man.