Helen Kaneshiro: Interned at Rohwer, Arkansas camp
In 1941, Helen Kaneshiro was a seventeen year-old girl who recently graduated from Compton High School.
On December 7, 1941, Helen and her family, having no clue of what had happened at Pearl Harbor, were working on their farm and noticed that people passing by were screaming at them. Later on, they found out the reason of the screaming, Pearl Harbor had been bombed by Japan.
After the signing of Executive Order 9066, Helen and her family packed one suitcase each, filled only with their clothes, got on their family truck and drove to the Santa Anita Racetrack. From there, the army confiscated their truck and had them sleep in horse stables before they were relocated to Rohwer, Arkansas.
After Helen and her family signed the Loyalty Oath, an oath where all Japanese Americans had to swear unqualified allegiance to America, they were well taken care of by the government and felt safer in the camp than outside of it. However, not everyone was willing to sign the oath. Some people believed that the signing of the oath was a superficial agreement, and true citizens do not need to sign a piece of paper to prove their loyalty. This idea was evidently shown in Helen’s Uncle, Kuzo Nakada, who was sent to a completely different camp because he was labeled disloyal for not signing the Loyalty Oath.
Only two people per family could work, her father and her eldest brother worked while everyone else was free to do whatever they pleased. Many of the men in the camps jumped eagerly at the opportunity to join the army to help defend their country and to get out of the internment camp. Her eldest brother joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and her youngest brother joined the navy.
When the war was over, Helen and her family waited to be transported back to Artesia, California. They returned to nothing. Helen’s family had to start over. They went from farmers living comfortably, to internees returning from camp to nothing. Helen’s father was luckily able to find a gardening job fairly easily because people in California had a huge demand for gardeners, and her father was one of the best. Her family bounced back quickly. Helen was able to attend college and live a comfortable life without discrimination.
Helen Kaneshiro with her brother, left, and George Takei at the groundbreaking cermony for the Go For Broke National Education Center.
