Licensing

World War II-Leaving Home

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the declaration of war against Japan, Executive Order 9066 was put into action and Japanese Americans on the West coast were forced to evacuate. With little notice, many people were forced to sell their belongings quickly, most for pennies on the dollar.

"We had a virtually new refrigerator and the day before they were supposed to leave, a gentleman came by, wanted to know if they wanted to sell anything. So my Dad says, 'I’ve got the refrigerator,' and the gentelman says, 'I’ll give you a dollar for it.' So my dad tells him 'no.' And the fellow replies, "Well, it’ll be free tomorrow cause you’ll be gone and you can’t take it with you.' So my dad put it on the street and drove over it with a truck."

~Roy Muranaka