2008 Woodie Awards
Japanese-Americans in WWII Subject of Lecture
Jessica Bourse
Issue date: 5/28/08 Section: News
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The lecture, co-sponsored by the Associated Students (ASGCC) and the Cultural Diversity Program, was held from noon to 1 p.m. and included a question and answer period between the audience and the speakers.
Makino spoke first, discussing what it was like living in the Los Angeles area before World War II.
"My family had a store in San Bernardino," said Makino. "It was on 1718 N. San Fernando Road. Times were very hard and everyone was looking for something better to do…"
In the 1930s, Makino's family moved to Alhambra, where his father set up another store. The store was successful until it caught fire and burned down. The Makino family, with support from customers, rebuilt another store.
Makino remembered delivering grocery orders to the home of George S. Patton, the famous army general, who served in both world wars and whose family home was in San Marino.
After the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Asian-Americans, especially those of Japanese descent, were facing serious racial profiling by the government and racism from non-Asian citizens.
On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which gave power to the federal government and military to remove any suspicious citizens from coastal areas, and relocate them to internment camps.
"The word came out that we had to move," said Makino. "Most people had three days to prepare to leave - to where? We had no idea."
Makino continued, "The internment camps were called 'assembly centers.' From Washington to Oregon, to California, were 16 assembly centers."
During the next three years, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were seized and sent to the camps.
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