My name is Gordon Hideaki Nagai. I am a Nisei, a second generation American of Japanese descent born in 1938 of a father who was an immigrant alien from Hiroshima, Japan, and a mother born near San Jose, California of immigrant parents also from Hiroshima. We lived on a farm owned by my mother outside of Atwater, California she bought in 1931. My family’s world was abruptly changed when on December 7, 1941 the Imperial Navy of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in a sneak attack. Thus began a chain of events that resulted in my family’s forced evacuation and internment in a concentration camp in Colorado during the war.
Life behind barbed wire and surrounded by gun towers was surreal and harsh, especially difficult for Mom and Dad. Because my mother was born in California she was thus an American citizen and was stripped of all constitutional protections because of racial hysteria at the time. My dad as an immigrant alien had arrived on these shores in 1917 seeking to become a citizen, but due to anti-Japanese legislation becoming naturalized was prohibited for him. Both Mom and Dad were deeply embarrassed and ashamed for being considered “enemy aliens.”
After the war I spent the better part of my youth in school and working on the family farm where each summer I developed a “farmer’s tan” and calloused hands, and over the years a strong work ethic.
During the period 1958-59 I struggled with my stance toward military service and early in 1960 filed with my Selective Service Board requesting status as a Conscientious Objector to war. Following several appeals of my denied request a federal hearing officer (judge) ruled in my favor and I was granted status as a C.O.
I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in January of 1961 and earned a Masters in Social Welfare in 1963. I immediately applied for service under the Selective Service Act to fulfil my obligation for alternative service in lieu of military service with the California State Department of Mental Hygiene and completed my service in 1965.
I worked in a variety of social service settings and last worked as a case manager for developmentally challenged clients in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties until I retired in 2000 following a massive heart attack.
Retirement suited me just fine and I regained my health quite remarkably. When Barbara retired in 2007 we moved to Eugene, Oregon following our children and grandchildren. I now live with my wife of 58 years and close to the four grandchildren, and life is just plain good.
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