Ken Hayabashi Case
TULARE, CA- Sixteen-year-old Japanese teen, Ken Hayabashi was captured and interrogated by U.S. Military officials by being surrounded on dry land in Tulare after returning back home from a very early morning fishing and swimming trip at 7 a.m., which seemed suspicious to the Justice Department.
Mr. Hayabashi’s “fishing and swimming” trip at about 4’oclock this morning didn’t last for very long. When he returned to Tulare, he was captured by officials right after he stepped foot on dry land. Following his capture, officials interrogated him thoroughly and made a unanimous decision to evacuate him to a Prisoner of War camp in Texas called Ft. Sam Houston. He would remain there until proven innocent. The decision was made because interrogators
stated that, “he posed a major threat to the U.S. because there was a very high chance he was collaborating with Japanese enemies off of the West Coast when he was ‘fishing and swimming.’” Officials reported that they had picked up signals from multiple ships, not just Ken’s, during his time on water, which caused them to take precaution. Hayabashi’s parents were busy making arrangements for their son’s chaotic transportation to Ft. Sam Houston, but in between their tears, a very moving statement was given from Ken’s mother. Mrs. Hayabashi said, “He’s not even an adult yet, he’s still learning to drive. You can’t take my son away and treat him as if… as if he’s some type of prisoner, when all he was doing was fishing.”
The Journey from California to Texas takes quite some time, approximately 25 hours in the car, or around three hours on a plane, if Hayabashi receives special treatment for his new status as a POW. Hopefully within this time Ken has time to reflect on all that has happened to him. One of his best friends from school, Joseph Asa, mentioned how he would miss getting to have classes with Ken and seeing his smiling face in the hallways. Joseph couldn’t believe this was happening just like Ken’s parents and said that, “For a sixteen-year-old, this hit him like a hurricane, and somehow he was standing right in the middle of it.” Indeed, it did.
Mr. Hayabashi’s “fishing and swimming” trip at about 4’oclock this morning didn’t last for very long. When he returned to Tulare, he was captured by officials right after he stepped foot on dry land. Following his capture, officials interrogated him thoroughly and made a unanimous decision to evacuate him to a Prisoner of War camp in Texas called Ft. Sam Houston. He would remain there until proven innocent. The decision was made because interrogators
stated that, “he posed a major threat to the U.S. because there was a very high chance he was collaborating with Japanese enemies off of the West Coast when he was ‘fishing and swimming.’” Officials reported that they had picked up signals from multiple ships, not just Ken’s, during his time on water, which caused them to take precaution. Hayabashi’s parents were busy making arrangements for their son’s chaotic transportation to Ft. Sam Houston, but in between their tears, a very moving statement was given from Ken’s mother. Mrs. Hayabashi said, “He’s not even an adult yet, he’s still learning to drive. You can’t take my son away and treat him as if… as if he’s some type of prisoner, when all he was doing was fishing.”
The Journey from California to Texas takes quite some time, approximately 25 hours in the car, or around three hours on a plane, if Hayabashi receives special treatment for his new status as a POW. Hopefully within this time Ken has time to reflect on all that has happened to him. One of his best friends from school, Joseph Asa, mentioned how he would miss getting to have classes with Ken and seeing his smiling face in the hallways. Joseph couldn’t believe this was happening just like Ken’s parents and said that, “For a sixteen-year-old, this hit him like a hurricane, and somehow he was standing right in the middle of it.” Indeed, it did.