Mochida Family, Tagged, Headed To Internment Camp (1942)

"He raised snapdragons and sweet peas."

While the United States acted with incredible bravery during World War II, one grievous mistake we made was the internment of Japanese-Americans, who were considered suspect merely because we were at war with the land of their ancestry. One such family forced to relocate from their home and community into a camp was the Mochidas of Hayward, California, seen in the above classic photograph, which was taken by the great Dorothea Lange. The original caption:

“Members of the Mochida family awaiting evacuation bus. Identification tags are used to aid in keeping the family unit intact during all phases of evacuation. Mochida operated a nursery and five greenhouses on a two-acre site in Eden Township. He raised snapdragons and sweet peas. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry will be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration.”

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