Loyalty in Question?
Imagine that the country you love, believe in and pledge your allegiance to, became your captor, rather than your protector. Your citizenship is ignored as your rights are violated. You are forced from your home deprived of your property, bank accounts seized or frozen, forced from your home where armed guards tag and label you as dis-loyal; a threat, "4C Enemy Alien” corralling you and thousands just like you into stalls, still stinking of the horse.
All without evidence or due process of law, as the constitution is trampled underfoot in the United States’ stampede to join WWII and beat Japan. Tensions intensified in 1943 when the government required internees to answer a “loyalty questionnaire.” They were asked if they would serve in combat and if they would swear unqualified allegiance to the United States. Some older internees answered “no” because they were not allowed to become U.S. citizens. Others refused to serve while their families were behind barbed wire. Those who answered “yes” were considered “loyal” and became eligible for indefinite leave outside the West Coast military areas. Those who answered “no” were sent to a segregation center at Tule Lake, Calif. |
American Ride - "Sacred Honor" Interview with Dr. Jeanette Misaka
In January 1943, federal officials announced that Japanese Americans, including those held in incarceration camps, would be allowed to volunteer for a racially segregated U.S. Army unit. In February 1943, the U.S. War Department and the War Relocation Authority (WRA) decided to test the loyalty of all people of Japanese ancestry who were incarcerated in the WRA camps. They required all those 17 years of age and older to answer a questionnaire that became known as the "loyalty questionnaire." Their answers would be used to decide whether they were loyal or disloyal to the United States. |