ROBERT YANO - a photo on Flickriver

ROBERT YANO

            Kingsburg, Ca.
This is Bob Yano. He is 93 years old. In 1942, when Executive Order 9066 came out, he was a senior in Kingsburg, High School. He had been active in many sports (basketball, track, football) and was well liked. E.O. 9066 required him and all people of Japanese ancestry to leave the western states and move to concentration camps. They were given two weeks notice. He, his father and two brothers, as well as some other relatives, left the farm they owned and went to Sanger, Ca. where they boarded a train that carried them off to an unknown destination, that turned out to be Gila River, Arizona.  I asked him if any of his non-Japanese teammates or any other of his "friends" with whom he grew up, protested or showed him or his family any support. He said, "No." 
After a few months in the camp, despite feeling disappointment and resentful toward the U.S. government, he enlisted in the army. He was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.  From Wikipedia: "This unit was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare. The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April, 1943, had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple  Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations. Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor. "
Bob's mother had gone to Japan to visit, just before December 7th, 1941. He never saw her again. 
When he left the concentration camp for the military, the women of the camp made the sash he is holding in the image. It has a thousand red dots, and was meant to be worn as protection from harm. Bob wore this sash under his uniform the entire time he was in the army. 
Bob's platoon leader was Senator Daniel Inouye. 
Shortly before the end of the war, Bob won a camera in a raffle. He had that camera with him when his unit entered Milan, Italy. From a fair distance away, he snapped a picture of the bodies of Mussolini, his mistress and several other fascists as they hung upside down from a structure. Talk about history!
Bob has a number of wooden walking sticks or canes that were carved by either his father or members of his family in the concentration camp. They didn't have a lot to do, and resources were limited. But wood carving was possible. He gave me one of those canes. It is one of my most prized possessions. 
   

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Taken in: United States / California / Fresno (show map)

Taken on: August 9, 2017

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robert yano

dave meyer

sash

one thousand red dots

442

442 regimental combat team

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Sets appears in: • KINGSBURG HISTORICAL PARK • PEOPLE more » • CALIFORNIA « less

Groups appears in: • This is America • California's Central Valley more » • KINGSBURG CALIFORNIA • Fresno Photographers • Lyric Documentary • love life, love photography. • American Typologies • The Japanese-American History & Experience • Samsung Galaxy Note 5 • All Free Pictures (Creative Commons and Public Domain) • Cell-Ography « less

Camera: samsung SM-N920V, f/1.9, 1/60 sec, 4.3mm, ISO 500 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	samsung SM-N920V
Aperture:	f/1.9
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	4.3mm
ISO:	500
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
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