Young Nisei man completing questionnaire before enlisting, Amache, Colorado, photo by Tom Parker, courtesy of UC Berkeley Bancroft Library
In February 1943, Japanese Americans already imprisoned were forced to answer a so-called “loyalty questionnaire.”
There were no right answers — only consequences.
quietamericans.com/loyalty-questionnaire
#QuietAmericans #JapaneseAmericanHistory #WWIIHistory #CivilLiberties
Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka (NASA)
On January 24, 1985, Ellison Onizuka became the first Asian American — and the first person of Asian descent — to fly in space.
Born in Kona, Hawai‘i, this Sansei broke barriers with quiet resolve and technical brilliance.
#EllisonOnizuka #OnThisDay #QuietAmericans #AANHPI #NASA #SpaceHistory
OTD in 1942: The Manzanar Riot.
Rumors of informants, rising resentment, and the arrest of a beloved kitchen worker pushed the camp past its breaking point.
Military police opened fire. Two men died.
quietamericans.com/manzanar-riot
#Manzanar #AAPIHistory #QuietAmericans
Nov 25, 1978: The first Day of Remembrance was held in Seattle.
Japanese Americans returned to Puyallup, reliving what happened in 1942, and sparking the movement that led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
#DayOfRemembrance #JapaneseAmericanHistory #QuietAmericans
On Nov 24, 1942, Ralph Merritt took over Manzanar during deadly unrest.
He wasn’t perfect — but agriculture, education, and community programs grew under his watch.
Read the story: quietamericans.com/ralph-merritt
#JapaneseAmericanHistory #Manzanar #QuietAmericans
On Nov 22, 1922, the Supreme Court ruled in Yamashita v. Hinkle that Japanese immigrants couldn’t own land.
They used “Negro, Indian, and Chinaman” as evidence.
Full story: quietamericans.com/yamashita-v-hinkle
#QuietAmericans #JapaneseAmericanHistory #AAPIHistory #CivilRights
Nov 21, 1945 — Manzanar closed.
After 3.5 years of incarceration, people were released with a one-way ticket, $25, and almost nowhere to go.
The last to leave were a mother and her 4-year-old son.
#Manzanar #WWIIHistory #JapaneseAmericanHistory #CivilRightsHistory #QuietAmericans
He never stopped believing in a Constitution that refused to believe in him.
Forty years later, the courts finally did.
🔗 quietamericans.com/fred-korematsu
#QuietAmericans #FredKorematsu
He made history in both the House and the Senate, and he only needed one hand to do it.
Nov 6, 1962 — Daniel Inouye became the first Japanese American elected to the U.S. Senate, decades after losing his arm in WWII.
Full story: quietamericans.com/daniel-inouye
#QuietAmericans #WWII #DanielInouye
Nov 4, 1943 — Protests broke out at Tule Lake War Relocation Center over food and unfair treatment. Project Director Raymond Best panicked and called in the U.S. Army. Tanks. Machine guns. Martial law.
A prison inside a prison was born.
#QuietAmericans #TuleLake
Born on this day, Ralph Lazo wasn’t Japanese American.
But when his classmates were sent to Manzanar, he refused to let them go alone.
For two years, he lived behind barbed wire — not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
🔗 quietamericans.com/ralph-lazo
#QuietAmericans #RalphLazo #Manzanar
Topaz closed on Oct 31, 1945.
One of its incarcerees, Mitsuye Endo, helped make that happen.
Her case went to the Supreme Court.
She won.
The camps closed.
👉 quietamericans.com/topaz
👉 quietamericans.com/california-fires-400
#OnThisDay #QuietAmericans #MitsuyeEndo #JapaneseAmericanHistory #Topaz
On October 28, 1895, Tōyō Miyatake was born.
During WWII, he smuggled in a lens and built a homemade camera to document life at Manzanar.
They took away his freedom — but not his vision nor determination.
🔗 quietamericans.com/toyo-miyatake
#ToyoMiyatake #Manzanar #WWIIhistory #QuietAmericans
Oct 20, 1942 — Gordon Hirabayashi was found guilty for resisting the racist curfew & exclusion orders.
But he never stopped believing in the Constitution.
Years later, his conviction was overturned.
He had been right all along.
#QuietAmericans #GordonHirabayashi #WWII #CivilRights
The most dramatic return of WWII.
On Oct 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur made good on his vow and returned to the Philippines.
From a beach on Leyte, he told the people:
“I have returned.”
His words became legend — and so did the moment.
#WWII #QuietAmericans #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth
Short. But not sweet.
The Jerome incarceration camp held over 16,000 Japanese Americans — including thousands of children — in the swampy forests of Arkansas. It operated for less than two years, about half the duration of other camps.
But the damage was done.
#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory
They fought for a country that incarcerated their families.
Decades later, the country finally said thank you.
October 5, 2010 — President Obama signed S.1055, awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Japanese American veterans of the 100th, 442nd, and MIS.
#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory
From the fields of Poston to the halls of Caltech to the front lines of redress, Hiroshi Kamei’s legacy is one of action, clarity, and justice.
Learn more about Hiroshi at: quietamericans.com/hiroshi-kamei
#QuietAmericans #HiroshiKamei #JapaneseAmericanHistory #WWIIHistory #AAPIHeritage #JACL
After his fire bomb failed, he returned with a samurai sword.
On September 29, 1962, Nobuo Fujita came back to Brookings, Oregon — the town he once tried to burn — to offer an apology and a 400-year-old family heirloom.
#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory #NobuoFujita #Reconciliation
The Songbird of Manzanar is 100 years young today.
Mary Kageyama Nomura was just 16 when she was incarcerated during WWII. But even behind barbed wire, her captivating contralto voice couldn’t be silenced.
#QuietAmericans #MaryNomura #Manzanar #WWIIHistory #JapaneseAmericanHistory #Happy100th
It wasn’t just a photo of two men.
Sept 27, 1945 — MacArthur met Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo.
One towering, casual. The other stiff, diminished.
The U.S. made Japan publish the photo. A cultural shift had begun.
🔗 quietamericans.com/macarthur-hirohito
#QuietAmericans #WWIIHistory
Today, she serves in the U.S. Congress as a powerful voice for civil rights, public health, and marginalized communities. Her life and work are reminders that even from the harshest beginnings, resilience can reshape the future.
#QuietAmericans #DorisMatsui #Poston #WWIIHistory #AAPIHeritage
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Visitors are invited to place a Japanese hanko stamp beneath each name, acknowledging each individual. From 2025 to 2026, Ireichō will go on national tour until every single person is honored.
🔗quietamericans.com/ireicho/
#QuietAmericans #Ireicho #DuncanRyukenWilliams #JANM #WWIIHistory
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But decades later, his book was rediscovered — and helped expose one of the most complex and painful chapters of Japanese American history.
#QuietAmericans #JohnOkada #NoNoBoy #JapaneseAmericanHistory #WWII #Resistance #DraftResistance #AAPIHeritage #CivilRights #NeverForget
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An International Love Story from the Mid-1800s
Born in Edo Castle, Tadaatsu Matsudaira studied at Harvard and fell for an American girl.
His family warned he’d be disowned if he didn’t return.
He stayed.
Read more: quietamericans.com/tadaatsu-matsudaira/
#QuietAmericans #JapaneseAmericanHistory
Before Mabel Ōta, born on this day, became the first female Asian principal in California, the incarceration camp killed her father and left her daughter with permanent brain damage.
🔗 quietamericans.com/mabel-ota
#NeverForget #QuietAmericans
There’s a lot more to this story. Read more at quietamericans.com
#QuietAmericans #JapaneseLatinAmericans #WWIIHistory #AAPIHistory #HiddenHistory #NeverForget #OnThisDay
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Her story “Seventeen Syllables” captured the gap between immigrant parents and their American-born children — layered with metaphor, irony, and delicate precision.
Through her writing, Yamamoto gave voice to experiences that didn’t have one before.
#QuietAmericans #HisayeYamamoto #AAPIHistory
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Happy Birthday to John Tateishi — whose tireless work as JACL Redress Director helped make the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 possible.
#QuietAmericans #JohnTateishi #CivilLibertiesAct #JapaneseAmericanHistory #WWIIHistory #AAPIHistory #NeverForget #OnThisDay
More than a museum, the Center helps preserve stories of injustice, resilience, and civil rights — so future generations can learn what happened and why it matters.
#QuietAmericans #HeartMountain #InterpretiveCenter #JapaneseAmericanHistory #WWIIHistory #NeverForget #OnThisDay
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