Hidekazu Tamura, 99, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Amid commemorations for Wednesday's 75th anniversary of the formal Sept. 2 surrender ceremony that ended WWII, Tamura, a former Japanese American living in California, has vivid memories of his time locked up with thousands of other Japanese-Americans in U.S. intern camps.
Against his family’s wishes, Tamura moved back to the United States alone in 1938 when he was 17, after his dream of becoming an aircraft pilot was crushed when he failed an eye exam. The United States, he hoped, would provide him the same opportunities his parents received. The questions divided the Japanese community between those seen as loyal to the United States and those loyal to Japan. The split caused fights and even killings in the camps.
Hundreds of its members would march around the outer perimeter of the camps at dawn, with white headbands and shaved heads, a symbol of devotion to Japan. “It’s war with Japan, so we thought we’d be killed eventually anyway,” he said, by way of explanation of his risky activities in the camps. Secretly, Tamura hoped the Japanese military would rescue him from the camps.
At Santa Fe, he heard the Japanese emperor’s mid-August surrender broadcast while listening to a handmade radio. But Tamura wasn’t convinced the war was over and thought the address was propaganda.
Internment an overreaction due to fear of Japan’s massive war atrocities & massacre of our soldiers. Thankfully this came to an end because the heroic bravery of our Veterans (which included those of Japanese ancestry)
And how does that feel being in league with Hitler's right
Has this administration started rebuilding those camps yet? If trump wins in November I wouldn't want to be a Chinese American just now. Or a Muslim Or from anywhere south of the Rio Grande
It was a difficult time. An unfortunate result of war and fear!
Who gives a shit? I can absolutely, positively guarantee that there were plenty of Americans of other races and nationalities that suffered far, far worse than he did.
US is a shameless bully !!! Trump is it’s karmic reward
He had every right to do that. However, unless you lived in that time, dealt, in reality with a Worldwide war of emperialism, on two fronts, while building a war effort to defeat it. You cannot know how people struggled with decisions and why they were made.
The Japanese conducted medical experimented on thousands of Chinese citizens. Horrible stuff.
And guess what President did that
America: We do really f*cked up things to our citizens, especially if they’re a person of color or poor or don’t agree with us.
He's lucky he was not a Uyghur in 2020 imprisoned in Communist China.
And in 75 years there will be Hispanic people that will remember the time that they were jailed and taken from their parents made to sleep on the floor this is still a terrible thing it was a terrible thing then and it's worse now because we know better
so he wouldn't pledge allegiance. then good he was locked up. others that were loyal shouldn't have been. he should have enlisted as well. and japan is even more racist than american. then and now
Just keep spreading that hatred against white people......
When Democrats are in charge the US does stupid things.
This just proves how racist America is... oh wait...
Holy crap what-about-isms are strong in here.
only in US
Party of slavery AND internments. Tell me again about Republicans.
A progressive leftist locked the Japanese up in internment camps. Another Democrat racial hate crime.
Democrats screwing over POCs since the 1800s. Nothing has changed.
We wouldn't renounce citizenship of a country that uses nuclear bombs on your own native people, twice.
A leftist communist fascist murdered a man for wearing a hat in Portland on Saturday. The AP will lie to you, to keep you enslaved by their handlers, the state. Globalist controllers, or who really know why. Just know, they lie! Joseph goebbels would be proud of the AP
My understanding is that the internment camps were far better than the cruelties inflicted upon captured allies.
Sad memories, if not new. Unfortunately, the article does not say if other Japanese nationals renounced their American citizenship and returned to Japan, as Mr. Tamura did.
He returned to Japan, where he was proud at what had been accomplished at Nanking, Bataan, Burma, Manilla, and all ...aquired ... territories. But mostly he was proud of the Japanese respect for prisoners of war.
This was stupid and tragic!
it's almost like people should stay in the countries where they're from
Interesting to see how both sides’ experiences shaped their respective prejudices. It’s not a lesson just for America, but a lesson for everyone in every country to see how attitudes towards others different then you is shaped by your environment
Wait until they find out what we did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Locked up by a Dem socialist president. FDR
Yep! Ordered by FDR. A democrat! The same party that fought for slavery, didn’t want blacks to be citizens and didn’t want to give blacks the right to vote. The party of th KKK. The democrats!
112000 Japanese were interned in the US. 38% of them were Japanese citizens. Who would want 40,000 citizens of a country that we are war with moving about freely? War Sucks. Hindsight is 20/20.
Some how the US and Japan have been allies for 70 years.
What until he reads what Japan did to its prisoners, including civilian women!
Another fact check for you: What party was in power when he was interred?
Don’t let the door hit you in the ass
I respect his decision. FDR is admired by progressives, but I'm sure we can all agree that what FDR did to Japanese people was despicable.
What's the point the AP is trying to make with this news? This not the time for this BS
Good for you
Now do the Uighurs currently locked up in concentration camps in China.
Remember Democrats were insisting on the internment camp. Republicans were strongly against it.
A Trump thing X 100 happening now.
One of the stains that diminishes anything FDR accomplished
GeorgeTakei
One of our more shameful times in history.
What the hell is wrong with you AP?
I'm real sorry for what was done our family lost everyone in Germany during the war.But there are still a lot of good people in this world and a lot of bad politicians with ideologies that suck.
Very sad. I’m sure many did the same thing.
At the time was the president a Democrat or a Republican? 🤔
Never mind the 30000+ POWs that Japan had after attacking the US for no reason
The Democrats have always made terrible decisions
Division and self hatred going a little slow tonight AP?
What exactly was Japan up to during the 30s and early 40s?
and he has every right to do that. Nobody alive had any responsibility in it or chose to do it. What is the point of this article?
😢
A national shame that should never have happened. Forced displacement of people has always been wrong, and it always will be.
FDR only locked up a 120K or so. Thats what Democrats do, build cages
Internment camps were set up by Dems. History matters.
Remember Pearl Harbor
I don’t blame him
Cool, they all should’ve done the same as him and gone back.
By a democrat president
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »
Source: USATODAY - 🏆 100. / 63 Read more »
Source: RollingStone - 🏆 483. / 51 Read more »
Source: InterviewMag - 🏆 484. / 51 Read more »
Source: TeenVogue - 🏆 481. / 51 Read more »
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »