A photo of Shirley and her family at the internment camp. From left to right, Dennis, their grandfather, Shirley (baby), Ray, and Jeff.
Shirley Hideko Nakada: Born in Jerome, Arkansas camp
Shirley’s parents were a young couple beginning their lives as farm laborers in California. The family had 3 young boys before internment. Her mother was Nissei, father born in Hawaii but raised in japan (Issei). They were a quiet family that didn’t express their opinion about the war or the internment of Japanese citizens. Discussing these topics was difficult for her parents.
The family was referred to as ‘one with no country’ based on the results of a questionnaire in the camps. Questions 27 and 28 were answered “no” and “no” by her father. These resulted in the U.S. government labeling the family as “disloyal”. This was a choice, however, made by Shirley’s father that would forever change their lives.
They were moved to a higher security camp for the ‘disloyal’ Japanese-Americans, in Northern California. One of her brothers was run over by an army truck and killed in the new camp, the family tried to suppress their feelings about this event referred to it as the “bad time.” Hideko’s family had a ‘move forward’ attitude that led to Shirley's lack of knowledge of what was happening around her. Shirley never brought it up later in life because she did not want to sadden her parents with memories of their lost son.
The United States ‘denounced’ their family’s citizenship and was moved back to Japan even though they were mostly American citizens. The family’s American clothing stood out in Japan and they faced heavy discrimination. The sons of the family fought at school daily, while the parents struggled to find a job, make enough money, and keep the family together. Japan's recession at the time didn't help the family in any way either. Her oldest brother began to feel sick in Japan, possibly due to poor food and water quality. The family looked to relocate back to the United States if necessary. It took eight years of work in Japan for her family to be able to return to the United States.
Overall, Shirley’s family was quiet about the entire process. they never felt a need to forgive the United States government because they understood that Japanese internment was seen as a “necessary evil” at the time. The loss of a child led to her parents rarely discussing life in the camps due to bad memories. Growing up, Shirley was too young to understand most of the discrimination and racism occurring at the time. She remembers the word “Jap” although at the time, she didn’t know exactly what it meant. Even through high school, Shirley did not feel like discrimination was a major problem for her.
It took until Shirley’s father was 75 years old for him to be able to regain his citizenship. It took him three tries, but in the end he was very proud of this accomplishment. Shirley mother had a really hard time adjusting to Japanese livelihood since she was born in the countryside and the city was dirty and crowded.Property of Shirley Hideko’s family wasn't taken since family lacked their own farm . They lived and worked on land owned by (whites?). Grandparent’s had their own land anything that they couldn't take stayed with them in America.