Dr. Yoshiko “Fred” Fujikawa, a physician born in San Francisco in 1910, testified before the Commission about the forced removal from Terminal Island and his work as a doctor inside the camps. His story highlights both the chaos of evacuation and the crushing conditions of providing medical care for thousands of Japanese Americans.

• Life on Terminal Island: Practiced medicine from 1936 until February 1942. The community of 3,000 Japanese Americans, mostly fishermen and cannery workers, lived surrounded by shipyards, Navy installations, and military facilities.

• Pearl Harbor & Crackdown: After December 7, soldiers blocked off access, jeeps patrolled with machine guns, and the FBI rounded up hundreds of men. He lost hospital privileges by mid-December, leaving him unable to fully care for patients.

• 48-Hour Evacuation: On February 25, 1942, residents were ordered off the island. With his family, he worked around the clock dismantling X-ray machines and packing medical equipment while neighbors were preyed upon by opportunists offering pennies for cars and furniture. His mother, in grief, burned family heirlooms and handmade furniture rather than see them stolen.

• Emergency Medical Work: Recruited by the U.S. Public Health Service, Fujikawa set up the makeshift “hospital” in the horse stalls at Santa Anita, caring for 18,000 people with only six doctors. He described severe vaccine reactions, fainting, and diarrheal illness in long lines. Paid just $16 a month.

• At Jerome Camp: Later transferred to Arkansas, where seven doctors cared for 10,000 people. Facilities were slightly better, but the scale of need remained overwhelming.

• Life After Camp: Left in 1943 to work at a TB sanatorium in Missouri, eventually returning to Long Beach in 1949.

• On Redress: Closed by saying many of those who most needed monetary support had already passed away, underscoring the urgency of reparations.