Executive Order 9066 and Japanese Internment

Floor Speech

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, on February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066, which led to the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry.

My great-grandfather, Seiki Takasato, was one such ``issei,'' ``first generation,'' taken from his home in Puunene, Maui, and sent to Honouliuli on Oahu, Sharp Park in California, and finally ending up at the internment camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It was there that he painted this picture. Guilty of nothing else but being of Japanese descent, internees like my ``jiji,'' ``great- grandfather'' were stripped of everything they owned-- homes, property, and life savings--and denied the most basic human and civil rights.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you as one of millions of descendants who will never forget. We bear the familial scars from a time filled with xenophobia, hate, and fear. Be that as it may, we also embody the ``gaman,'' ``enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity'' of those who came before us, committed to making sure we learn from the mistakes of our past lest we are doomed to repeat them.

With everything happening in our country and our world, let us stand up and recommit to ensuring that such atrocities never stain our collective conscience again.

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