George Takei recalls that his family was taken to an American concentration camp in World War II
‘I can never forget that horrible, terrifying morning’: Star Trek’s George Takei, 85, recalls his family being taken to an American concentration camp during WWII
Star Trek royalty George Takei recalled the ‘awful and terrifying’ morning that inspired his new West End musical Allegiance, during a talk on Monday.
George, 85, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Monday where he detailed his family’s experience being sent to an American concentration camp in 1943, during World War Two.
He said his family was brought to the camp along with other Japanese Americans who were “deemed unreliable” after the events of Pearl Harbor.
‘I can never forget that terrifying morning’: Star Trek star George Takei, 85, told GMB on Monday his family was taken to an American concentration camp during World War Two.
“Japanese-Americans on the West Coast, approximately 120,000 of us…were detained without charge or trial,” he said.
‘The California State Attorney General said we have no reports of espionage or sabotage. But he said: “The Japanese are inscrutable, we can’t tell what they’re thinking. So it would be wise to lock them up before they do anything.”
“For this top California attorney, the absence of evidence was evidence.”
George said in 2019 ‘I know what concentration camps are. I was inside two of them, in America.’ He is pictured on the right when he was a child and on the left in September 2018. Takei previously spoke about being in an internment with his parents during World War II at age 5.
In June 2019, Takei-tweeted to his 2.9 million followers about what had happened.
Recalling the morning his family was taken to the concentration camp, George said: “I was five years old, but I will never forget that morning when my father walked into the room I shared with my brother… and told us to wait.” . in the living room while my parents packed last minute.
“Henry and I were at the front window looking out and all of a sudden we saw two soldiers marching up our driveway, with rifles and they started pounding on the door.
‘Henry and I were petrified. My father came out and opened the door and they pointed the bayonet at him and said, “Get your family out of this house.” Our house.
Small mercies: Takei said that he was fortunately not separated from his mother and father during World War II
Iconic role: George, (left), pictured with Walter Koenig in a still from Star Trek in 1968
“I can never forget that horrible and terrifying morning.”
George later mentioned that his family was released from the concentration camp in 1946 after the war ended.
Japan’s surprise military attack took place on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
He was a catalyst in the formal entry of the United States into World War II after being neutral in the fighting for two years.
Navy personnel would spend over three years trying to recover the remains of their deceased servicemen, but by September 1947 only 35 had been positively identified.
George’s play, Allegiance, tells the story of the Kimura family and their struggles after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to the website, Allegiance reveals the courage and loyalty of a family at a time of great injustice when 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps; Testing the power and endurance of the human spirit in this “moving and surprisingly uplifting” musical.
Soon, the political conflict is reflected within the family, leading brother and sister down completely different paths as they are forced to decide where their loyalties lie.
Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX
Remembering: George’s play Allegiance tells the story of the Kimura family and their struggles after the attack on Pearl Harbor.