Looking Like the Enemy

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald talked about her memoir Looking Like the Enemy: My Story of Imprisonment in Japanese American Internment Camps, published by NewSage Press. She was seventeen years old when, on May 16, 1942, she, her family, and all other Japanese-Americans living on Vashon Island were sent to the first of a series of internment camps. The Matsuda family was also known as Family #19788. Throughout her discussion, she described the day-to-day activities in the internment camp and read various excerpts from her book. The author displayed a poster announcing the removal of Japanese-Americans as well as the tag she was issued upon arrival at the first camp. Ms. Gruenewald compared the government’s handling of civil liberties since September 11, 2001 with the way she and other Japanese-Americans were treated in the 1940s. She also answered audience members' questions.

This event was held on the 64th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which was issued on February 19, 1942 to close