“That’s something that happened to me, and so what? It’s like anything else that’s upsetting, there’s no point keeping it in your head and getting upset about it. So shrug and forget about it.”

“You are Japanese, you became the enemy, now you have to prove you are not the enemy. We are not just doing lip service; we are out there to win the war. And if we die, we die.” Photo: Kathe Hashimoto

“Everybody grabbed their guns and we all went outside and everybody was saying, ‘The war’s over, the war’s over!’ That’s why they were firing their guns into the sky. I don’t think there was a dry-eye among us.”

"After they gave us the redress, it just really relieved all of us who had been in the camp. Because camp was sort of a feeling of shame, that you had to be in a place like that.”

“Luckily for us growing up in New York City, there was very little discrimination. And my dad became friends with the top godfather of the Italian mafia. I must’ve thought I was part Italian.”

“They didn’t break down or anything. Very, very strong people. Actually all the Issei are all like that because when they came over from the old country, they came with nothing. They worked hard all their life for their family. But when you become a parent, you start to see, feel all these things they went through.”