When the War ended, other camps had closed within a month or two–but it took legal action by ACLU lawyer Wayne Collins to get remaining prisoners released from Crystal City, and it finally closed in February 1948. By that time, Collins had helped many of the Crystal City prisoners, including my father, get work at Seabrook Farms in New Jersey, which had begun hiring many Japanese Americans from the camps in 1944. My dad was transferred from Crystal City to Seabrook Farms on October 4, 1946, where he worked in a tomato canning plant. He later told us he never wanted to eat ketchup again after that experience.
In late 1947, my dad came to San Francisco and found odd jobs as a handyman or domestic to wealthy white families. He met our mom when he went to clean up after a party at one of their houses, where she was working as a live-in domestic helper.
Our father worked day and night to make ends meet. Yoko and I never felt “poor” as he always made sure we had everything we needed to succeed in life. He didn’t talk a lot but his small words of encouragement have always stayed with me.
In 2009, when my dad was 90 years old, I bought him his first LEGO modular building, the LEGO Fire Brigade. My father could never sit still and was always getting injured. He had this need to keep his hands and mind busy at all times, so I thought LEGO would be a fun and wonderful hobby for him. He loved it! And he never stopped building until he was 100 years old, displaying his creations all over his house.