It was suggested by colleague in a Creative Writing course I’m taking that I give some explanation of how things turned out for me as a result of the experiences my family endured in the concentration camp during the war. This is a rough run-through of a piece that may end up in our memoir giving that explanation.

It may be of interest to readers how life turned out for this author because of the overlay of race and racial prejudice on the experiences described in our story. How did these affect how I “turned out?” Were my parents as positive as I’ve described them? How could they not be affected by their treatment? Were they resentful for being treated as enemy aliens? Did they suffer psychological or emotional scars as a result of their experiences? What was life like when we returned to our home community? What was the legacy my parents passed on to me as a result of this experience?

Pearl Harbor was devastating for all of the Japanese communities along the West Coast. Not only was the sneak attack an affront to us as Americans, it had the added layer of having been perpetrated by people who looked exactly like us.

Underlying this living memory was the fact that my parents had lived as productive and contributing members of the community for ten years leading up to Pearl Harbor. They were active members of the Methodist Church and members in good standing in several agricultural exchanges, meaning they were well respected by a body of fellow farmers.

Over the years they enjoyed personal friendships with three prominent and powerful men in the community – Judge Cardoza of the municipal court, Gordon Winton, president of the Bank of America and later representative in the state legislature, and Bill Harmon, owner of the largest farm in the surrounding community.

These three men literally saved our farm when we were forced to leave everything behind for the concentration camp. They prepared formal papers and bought our farm for the sum of $1.00, held it during the war, and sold it back to us for the same price on our return. Because of their friendship we were among a fortunate few who had a place to come home to.

Initially there were isolated acts of hatred, messages and signs urging us to stay away and not return. Overall, however, we were welcomed home by the town’s people who made genuine efforts to insure our safe return.

In school the five cousins experienced some overt negativity in the beginning months, but because all our teachers and the principal welcomed us back and watched over us in classrooms and on the school grounds much of it over time diminished and dropped away.

As for my parents, they did a major service to our family by the way they handled themselves throughout this whole episode and afterwards. By their actions, by what they said, and at times what they didn’t say, they instilled a powerful set of values that fortified my journey into life.

They felt humiliated being treated as enemy aliens jailed behind barbed wire, but at no time did they express anger or disrespect toward our government.

They experienced deep embarrassment and shame for the fact we looked like the enemy, but they diminished the impact of their embarrassment on us by reminding us we had done nothing wrong, and we were Americans underneath it all.

My mother in particular did not express resentment over the loss of her rights as a citizen, but instead generously saw our president and legislators in Washington doing the best they knew how.

It is hard for me to imagine let alone comprehend the depths of pain she must have endured knowing she was viewed as an enemy alien not trusted as an American by her government. Again she and my father found ways to hide their pain and embarrassment, and most assuredly some justified anger, while providing a sanctuary where we would not have to grow up too soon.

Underlying everything else they emphasized the importance of family and did everything possible to insure we stayed together as one.

The legacy my parents thus passed on to me included three most important elements: a profound sense of family, a deep love of country, and a lasting appreciation for justice before the law.