The American government, needing troops, went through the camps questioning the adults whether they would be willing to serve and to pledge their allegiance to the US alone and renounce all foreign allegiances.

Surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers, it became home and George’s father became block representative while his mother used the sewing machine she smuggled to make clothes for the children.

Then they were transported by train to Camp Rowher in Arkansas that would become their home for the next several years. Their first stop was a farm, their home a former cattle stall, still smelling of cow manure. Months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a knock came at the door ordering them to pack and prepare to be transported to a camp. Three children followed, the oldest of whom was George. His parents met and were married in Los Angeles and owned a profitable dry-cleaning business that allowed them to buy a home. One of the children who lived through this experience was George Takei, one of the original Star Trek stars, with a distinguished list of credits on stage and screen and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were people of Japanese descent and considered a threat. They had not committed any crime, nor been subject to any trial. They lost their businesses, homes, and any possessions they could not carry. In the following year over one hundred thousand were removed from their homes to internment camps. They lived on the West Coast of the United States when Pearl Harbor was attacked by surprise on December 7, 1941. Many of the children had been born in the United States. They were American citizens and legal resident aliens. Summary: A graphic non-fiction account of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War 2, through the experience of George Takei and his family. Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions, 2019. They Called Us Enemy, George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott.

They called us