Prisoner of war in her own country
Author Mary Matsuda recounts personal story of Japanese-American internment
Joe Nguyen, editor
May 8, 2007

Photo by Joe Nguyen Author Mary Matsuda holds up a copy of a poster from 1942 April 20 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The poster said that all people of Japanese decent will be evacuated from their homes and relocated.

BOULDER – Acclaimed author and former Japanese-American camp internee Mary Matsuda spoke about her experiences during World War II April 20 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Matsuda, author of “Looking Like the Enemy: My Story of Imprisonment in Japanese Internment Camps,” recounted her personal experiences of what happened to Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

“I think it was wonderful to have someone of that generation, the second generation, to be forthright and so honest about her emotions, her feelings, her experiences,” attendee Vicki Taniwaki said.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred when Matsuda was still in high school. She remembered the uneasy feelings she had going to school the next day.

“On Monday, Dec. 8, 1941, the kids were just the same as they always had been,” Matsuda said, “except everything had changed inside of me.”

The audience, who consisted mostly of students and community members, packed into a Benson Earth Sciences classroom, forcing those who came late to stand in the back. Some of those in attendance were former camp internees. The crowd silently listened to Matsuda’s tear-jerking accounts of being forced to leave her home in 1942 and the subsequent years in the camps.

“The last scene I remember of our home was our pesky dog Frisky and our cat … sitting on the back stoop watching us, as the four of us moved away,” she said.

The hour-long presentation left a lasting impression on some who were in attendance.

“It was very nice, very powerful, very timely, very sobering,” CU-Boulder grad student Christian Heimburger said. “I’m somewhat at a loss for words listening. History has some very surprising events that at times I can’t believe happened, but it’s good to remind ourselves.”

The event was part of Collaborasian, a month-long celebration of Asian-American heritage at CU-Boulder.

Joe Nguyen is the editor in chief for AsiaXpress.com. You can contact Joe via e-mail at Joe@asiaxpress.com.