Joe Yamamoto, a 62-year-old from Gardena, testified before the Commission about the collapse of his business, the humiliation of camp life, and the sting of America’s betrayal. Speaking as a former gas station owner and JACL member, his testimony carried both bitterness and hope for redress.

• Before the War: At 23, bought and ran a gas station in 1941 — only to lose it by December after Pearl Harbor. Family’s boarding house savings also wiped out.

• Media Hostility: Local papers and politicians stirred hysteria, painting Japanese Americans as a menace. Attempts to meet with General DeWitt were ignored.

• Forced Sale: Remembered putting a fake address in the paper when selling his 1941 car with new tires, to keep “vultures” from taking it for nothing.

• Arrival at Manzanar: Families given straw to stuff mattresses, packed into drafty shacks behind searchlights and fences. Politicians toured the camp to ensure internees “weren’t spoiled.”

• Camp Life: Tired of grape jam and beef heart rations. Later left camp under work furloughs to pick beets, potatoes, and turkeys across Idaho, Utah, and Colorado.

• Loyalty Questionnaire: Angrily recalled being asked if he’d fight for a country that had stripped him of everything. “I wish I had said hell no,” he confessed, but admitted he answered yes just to get out of camp.

• After Camp: Relocated to Chicago for four years, drafted into the Army, then forced to leave service to care for his parents still at Manzanar. Restarted from nothing when the West Coast reopened.

• Inadequate Compensation: Received a “take it or leave it” offer of $600 for losses that far exceeded that. Warned the Commission that 40 years of waiting was long enough.

• Final Plea: Asked for redress that would not just be money but also a permanent monument — a reminder to prevent future injustices.