[ti:kenji] [ar:fort minor] [al:231523] [by:] [offset:500] [00:06.84]My father came from Japan in 1905 [00:10.06]He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan [00:13.52]He he he worked until he was able to buy this patch [00:16.90]And build a store [00:17.73]Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream [00:19.85]I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means [00:22.69]Close your eyes just picture the scene [00:23.79]As I paint it for you it was World War II [00:26.07]When this man named Kenji woke up [00:27.62]Ken was not a soldier [00:28.68]He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA [00:32.18]That day he crawled out of bed like he always did [00:35.83]Bacon and eggs with wife and kids [00:37.65]He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran [00:40.51]He moved to LA from Japan [00:42.11]They called him 'Immigrant ' [00:43.42]In Japanese he'd say he was called Esay [00:45.90]That meant 'First Generation In The United States ' [00:49.34]When everyone was afraid of the Germans afraid of the Japs [00:52.09]But most of all afraid of a homeland attack [00:54.45]And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat [00:57.07]His world went black 'cause [00:58.47]Right there front page news [01:00.25]Three weeks before 1942 [01:01.79]Pearl Harbour's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin' [01:05.23]Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin' [01:07.01]Ken knew what it would lead to [01:08.67]Just like he guessed the President said [01:10.73]The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away [01:13.46] [01:14.83]They gave Ken a couple of days [01:16.55]To get his whole life packed in two bags [01:18.72]Just two bags couldn't even pack his clothes [01:21.25]Some folks didn't even have a suitcase to pack anything in [01:24.10] [01:24.93]So two trash bags was all they gave them [01:27.05]When the kids asked mum Where are we goin' [01:29.28]Nobody even knew what to say to them [01:31.46]Ken didn't wanna lie he said The US is lookin' for spies [01:33.77]So we have to live in a place called Mandinar [01:37.17]Where a lot of Japanese people are [01:39.39]Stop it don't look at the gunmen [01:40.97]You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin' [01:43.41]If you gonna run or not [01:45.01]'Cause if you run then you might get shot [01:46.85]Other than that try not to think about it [01:48.86]Try not to worry 'bout it bein' so crowded [01:51.15]Someday we'll get out someday someday [01:54.21] [01:56.02]As soon as war broke out [01:57.46]The G I came and they just come to the house and [02:01.30]You have to come [02:02.49]All the Japanese have to go [02:04.24]They took Mr Lee [02:05.99]People didn't understand [02:07.67]Why did they have to take him [02:09.37]Because he's an innocent labourer [02:11.42]So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them [02:13.64]Every day every night look down at them [02:16.38]From watch towers up on the wall [02:18.30]Ken couldn't really hate them at all [02:20.18]They were just doin' their job and [02:22.11]He wasn't gonna make any problems [02:24.57]He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that [02:28.03]He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made [02:30.09]But in the back of his mind he wanted his families life saved [02:32.69]Prisoners of war in their own damn country [02:35.46]What for [02:36.01]Time passed in the prison town [02:38.00]He wanted them to live it down when they were free [02:40.60]The only way out was joinin' the army [02:42.62]And supposedly some men went out for the army signed on [02:46.29]And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb [02:48.75]That 15 kilotonne blast put an end to the war pretty fast [02:53.07]Two cities were blown to bits the end of the war came quick [02:56.68]Ken got out big hopes of a normal life with his kids and his wife [03:00.39]But when they got back to their home [03:02.70]What they saw made them feel so alone [03:04.89]These people had trashed every room [03:06.64]Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors [03:09.00]Written on the walls and the floor [03:11.07]Japs not welcome anymore [03:11.98]And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside [03:16.64]He looked at his wife without words to say [03:19.14]She looked back at him wiped the tears away [03:21.43]And said Someday we'll be okay someday [03:25.02]Now the names have been changed but the story's true [03:27.31]My family was locked up back in '42 [03:29.50]My family was there it was dark and damp [03:31.85]And they called it an internment camp [03:34.32]When we first got back from camp uhh [03:36.49]It was pretty pretty bad [03:38.80]I I remember my husband said [03:41.90]Are we gonna stay 'til last [03:44.33]Then my husband died before they close the [03:47.92]END