Executive Order 9066

To the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle,
The United States is a dirty thief, and will not stop taking from me until I am dead. Well, rest assured that will not be much longer. I am sixty-two years old and in failing health. My name is Peter Hayabusa, and I wish to explain what has been taken from me.

It all started in March 1942. My material life was swept away in a flash of forms and soldiers. The boat used for my fishing company was impounded, and my liquid assets were frozen.1 Despite these injustices, I was very grateful to still be with my family. A fellow fisherman was sent to North Dakota, and was separated from his kin for over a year.2 I on the other hand was fortunate enough to stay with my loved ones throughout the relocation process. In late March, I saw the Exclusion Order posted on a telephone pole outside my old house in San Francisco.3 It hinted at what was to come, but no scrap of paper could prepare me. I cooperated throughout the evacuation procedure, gathering up what personal belongings I could, and selling the rest. My house, boat, and fishing company, along with countless possessions were sold for less than two years salary.4 It broke my heart to see my two boys (David, 19 and William, 17) leave behind their beloved baseball collection. They had many relics from some of the better teams, and they did not want to part with them. Within a week my family and I were put on a train to a mutated racetrack.
Small army tents scattered the land across Tanforan racetrack. This was to be our home for the next six months, and the accommodations were horrible. My family, two boys and my wife, were put into one tent to share. My wife, Mary, had to use a piece of cardboard to cover herself in the shower and latrines. She also had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to do our laundry. Even the food was bland, unappetizing, and unhealthy leading to constant stomach problems. Fellow prisoners did try to improve these harsh settings. David and William helped create a softball league, while my wife and I focused on gardening.5 Other prisoners created various recreational activities, but it was all in vain. By September, my family and I were moved again, this time to a more permanent location at Tule Lake.

Tule Lake was very similar to Tanforan racetrack. The accommodations were at first horrible, but gradually improved. For two years life was almost ordinary. My sons both got jobs within the community, and became members of the JACL (Japanese American Citizen League). Mary and I started a new garden, and made the best of things. Then in February of 1944, the United States took my sons away. David and William were drafted into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.6 I am told they died honorably in battle, and have received many of their awards. I suppose the army believes that a shiny piece of medal can ease my pain. Grandchildren would have eased my suffering a lot more than these trinkets. Mary was devastated. She grew very ill, and contracted bronchitis. She didn’t live through winter, and I was left alone. Suddenly the community outpoured with sympathy from all sides, but it didn’t help. I now hate this land that took everything from me.

Fortunately I do not have to stay in this wicked country. A couple weeks ago I applied for passage back to Japan, and it was approved.7 I have a cousin there who still has a semi-successful fishing business. God willing I will die doing something I love, for there are no more people left here to love. The United States successfully deterred me from her shores, after stripping away my life; first by taking my material possessions and later by taking the lives of my family. As I sit on this boat, heading towards my original home, I wonder why the Americans did this? Why did they turn a loyal man into a bitter enemy? This is why I write to you. I want to know what you saw threatening America? Was it my old tired hands? My little wife? My baseball loving sons? Was it necessary to destroy my family, my life?

Peter Hayabusa
September 1945
Sources and Footnotes


Daniels, Roger. Prisoners Without Trial. United States of America, 1993
Rice, Bullough, and Orsi. The Elusive Eden. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

1. Issei were not American citizens and labeled “enemy aliens.” This label was one justification for the seizure of property and freezing of liquid assets without due process.
2. This is in references to the Wakatsuki Ko story in The Elusive Eden.
3. The Civilian Exclusion Order was given on March 24th, 1942.
4. According to Daniels, “[m]ost goods were sold at ‘bargain’ prices: the buyers knew that the owners had to sell” (55).
5. The descriptions of Tanforan racetrack are found in chapter twenty-two of The Elusive Eden.
6. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was a segregated Japanese American unit that fought courageously in Italy and France during WWII; winning many awards and honors.
7. According to Daniels 1,659 aliens were transported from interment camps to Japan.