It was 1944, and Esther Takei didn’t understand why she had to be languishing there, alienated by the only country she knew. The federal government had given him the go-ahead to bring a single Japanese American student back to Southern California to enroll in college. It was a test case for the resettlement of all the detainees of Japanese descent, and he thought Esther, 19, would be a perfect candidate. Esther Takei Nishio, the first to make that journey home, died last month at her home in Pasadena at the age of 94. At Venice High School, she joined the Glee Club and a Japanese American club.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 30, 2019 10:52 UTC