September 18th, 1943
Dear, Diary
This past year has been rough because me and my family were forced out of our homes over year ago. I remember picking up the paper and reading that "All of Japanese Ancestry" will be evacuated from their homes and were instructed to move to a new one abiding by certain rules and limitations. Since that day forward I haven't seen the same smiles on my young boy and wife like I used to before. I hope this doesn't last much longer than it already has. I'm glad that I brought my college books with me so I could keep up while I'm in here. My son brought some of the books he likes to read, his books are called "Rabbit Hill" and "Twig". We don't have much time to read them tho but since that is the case, me and him have learned to read a lot faster than before. There were many Japanese in the camps who could not read English, luckily my son grew up speaking both languages, so he has the ability to teach others. No one in here gets good sleep because the beds are so uncomfortable. The blankets irritate our skin because of how rough they are and the pillows are as solid as a wall. We would sleep without them but the base is basically a sheet that is paper thin. The food is terrible and and almost unbearable to eat, but luckily me and my wife are able to come up with enough money to buy our own food. The food usually served is military style spam, potatoes and kidneys. We usually buy vegetables because they are the cheapest and have a better impact on whether we are hungry or not. Water is free at messing halls so that's mostly the only reason we enjoy attending when everyone eats. My wife is cashier and i am a trained doctor in the camps. As bad as we want to run away, we would get caught because there are always guards up in towers around the camp all day and all night. The camp is fenced in by a really tall fence so there is no way to just run. Many of the guards harass my family because we are of Japanese ancestry. I believe that the guards think that all of Japanese ancestry are enemies because of the war. I wish the guards weren't so foolish because we are punished by their actions. Our clothes were often in very unhealthy condition but we used to sew fabrics to patch up the holes and used just water to wash our clothes. I just want to leave this horrid place! There is no place like home.
later Diary,
I hope we survive this.
This past year has been rough because me and my family were forced out of our homes over year ago. I remember picking up the paper and reading that "All of Japanese Ancestry" will be evacuated from their homes and were instructed to move to a new one abiding by certain rules and limitations. Since that day forward I haven't seen the same smiles on my young boy and wife like I used to before. I hope this doesn't last much longer than it already has. I'm glad that I brought my college books with me so I could keep up while I'm in here. My son brought some of the books he likes to read, his books are called "Rabbit Hill" and "Twig". We don't have much time to read them tho but since that is the case, me and him have learned to read a lot faster than before. There were many Japanese in the camps who could not read English, luckily my son grew up speaking both languages, so he has the ability to teach others. No one in here gets good sleep because the beds are so uncomfortable. The blankets irritate our skin because of how rough they are and the pillows are as solid as a wall. We would sleep without them but the base is basically a sheet that is paper thin. The food is terrible and and almost unbearable to eat, but luckily me and my wife are able to come up with enough money to buy our own food. The food usually served is military style spam, potatoes and kidneys. We usually buy vegetables because they are the cheapest and have a better impact on whether we are hungry or not. Water is free at messing halls so that's mostly the only reason we enjoy attending when everyone eats. My wife is cashier and i am a trained doctor in the camps. As bad as we want to run away, we would get caught because there are always guards up in towers around the camp all day and all night. The camp is fenced in by a really tall fence so there is no way to just run. Many of the guards harass my family because we are of Japanese ancestry. I believe that the guards think that all of Japanese ancestry are enemies because of the war. I wish the guards weren't so foolish because we are punished by their actions. Our clothes were often in very unhealthy condition but we used to sew fabrics to patch up the holes and used just water to wash our clothes. I just want to leave this horrid place! There is no place like home.
later Diary,
I hope we survive this.