Densho Digital Repository
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Lon Inaba Interview
Narrator: Lon Inaba
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Wapato, Washington Date: May 27, 2023
Densho ID: ddr-densho-1000-537-11

<Begin Segment 11>

TI: Earlier you were talking about Sheane, and he's the valedictorian, and your dad was in high school. So they were old enough to kind of see what was going on. Any stories about maybe your dad and Sheane or any of the other siblings, Nisei siblings, and stories of how they dealt with the exclusion orders? Now we have to leave.

LI: Well, my uncle Sheane was the valedictorian. Because of the executive order and they had these proclamations that set these curfews as well. And so he couldn't, he was the valedictorian, but he couldn't go to his own graduation. Nine out of the top ten in that class were Japanese, so none of those guys got to go to the graduation ceremonies. My dad was a junior, and he raised his hand, and he said, "Didn't we just take U.S. history? Aren't we American citizens? We've never been to Japan in our lives." And he said, "We're at war with Germany, we're at war with Italy, how come those guys aren't getting removed?" I mean, he was pretty vocal. But, you know, didn't really do a heck of a lot of good.

[Interruption]

TI: Okay, so let me start this up. So we're now just talking about your father standing up in class and just saying, "Hey, we just took U.S. history, how can this be happening to us?"

LI: Yeah. Well, and their answer was, "We're doing it for your protection." And when he got to camp, he would say, "Well, how come the barbed wire's facing in and the guards in the towers are watching us?" [Laughs]

TI: Exactly. "Why are the guns pointed in and not out?"

LI: Right, right.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.