Joyce & Ted Hirayama: Witnesses to
Pearl Harbor
Ted and Joyce Hirayama, both from Oahu, Hawaii, witnessed the planes that later attacked Pearl Harbor. Ted and Joyce were only children when the bombing occurred. Joyce was out dancing and Ted was playing with friends as the planes flew by their homes. Those two separate Japanese task forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Not only did it hit the naval base, but also hit civilian locations. This was all confusing for them as children because they never would have thought this would happen. They were just kids and had to live through this depressing event.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor took place; Ted and Joyce’s family had to hide all their belongings and place newspapers on the windows to show that they weren’t communicating with the Japanese. Joyce’s family worked on an American family’s ranch, Dillingham Ranch. Since they worked at the ranch and the family quartered soldiers for the war Joyce’s family wasn’t take away to an internment camp. In Ted’s family some of his brothers were drafted for the 442nd Infantry Regiment. This regiment was made up of Japanese-Americans who fought in World
War ll. This unit mostly fought in different parts of Europe such as Germany and France. The unit had about fourteen thousand men serving and earned about 9,486 Purple Hearts. Twenty one of its members received Medals of Honor.Ted and Joyce were very fortunate to surpass Executive Order 9066. This order, passed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942, enforced that all people Japanese descent would be taken to internment camps. The two both surpassed interment since many Japanese resided in Hawaii at that time, but only Buddhist ministers were taken away. During the time of Japanese internment Ted and Joyce still
attended school for their education. All students had to carry around a gas mask for safety precautions in case of another bombing. They also had air raid drills and created lbomb shelters. Though their lives were still in potential danger during the war, they are very blessed to have prevailed.
When the war finally ended President Ronald Reagan gave everyone affected by Japanese internment a gift of twenty thousand dollars to help them back on their feet. The war may have ended, but the fight for equity among minorities is something we still fight for today.