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He was the third of four sons born into his immediate family. His parents were two Japanese immigrants, which made him a “Nisei”, which is when a Japanese American is the first generation to be born in America. Upon arrival in America, Korematsu’s parents opened a floral nursery business in their hometown. At home, Japanese was the main language spoken and many Japanese holidays were still celebrated. However, Fred and his brothers enjoyed many hobbies, like tennis, basketball, and football. Fre
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The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
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As the US entered World War II, Korematsu wanted to get involved. He tried enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast guard. Korematsu was rejected by the military officers right away because they discriminated him for his Japanese ancestry
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After this, Korematsu became a shipyard welder at docks in Oakland. Eventually, he was promoted to foreman of the welders. One day, Korematsu received an unexpected notice to report to the Union Office. Here, he was fired again due to his Japanese ancestry
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Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 allowing the Secretary of War to detain Japanese-Americans in internment camps
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Fred decided to stay with his Italian-American girlfriend. To disguise himself from the police and military, Fred changed his name to Clyde Sarah and claimed to be of Spanish and Hawaiian descent. He also received minor plastic surgery on his eyes to look “less Japanese”.
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Fred Korematsu was arrested on a street corner and taken to San Francisco county jail. On June 12, 1942, Korematsu had his trial date and was given $5,000 bail. After Fred's bail was posted, he and his lawyer, Besig, tried to leave, but we're met by Military Police.
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He and his family were placed in the Central Utah War Relocation Center and he was put to workin the horse stalls as an unskilled laborer. Korematsu was also put on five year probation.
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Bomb dropped over Hiroshima
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Imploding atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki.
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Fred went to Washinton DC and helped to pass a bill that would grant an official apology from the US government and a token compensation of $20,000 to each surviving Japanese American that incarcerated.
On August 10, 1988, President Regan signed the bill into law. -
Korematsu recieved the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton.The award is the nation's highest civilian honor. He also spoke at many universities all over the US. He spoke about his experience at Berkeley, Stanford, Georgetown, University of Michigan, Harvard, and Yale.
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Korematsu filed 2 amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in 2003 on behalf of Muslim inmates at Guantanamo Bay: Shafiq Rasul, v. George W. Bush and Khaled A.F. Al Odah v. United States of America. In both cases, he reminded the Court that their extreme measures were similar to those of the past with the internment camps.
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Korematsu filed a case on behalf of an American Muslim man who was held in solitary confinement in a US military prison without trial.
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Another amicus brief involving the Donald Rumsfeld v. Jose Padilla case, Korematsu wrote about the similarity of his unlawful detainment with Jose Padilla's situation. Korematsu wrote to remind the American government that they may be repeating their mistakes of the past. Korematsu believed that, "full vindication for the Japanese Americans will arrive only when we learn that, even in times of crisis; we must guard against prejudice and keep uppermost our commitment to law and justice.”
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Korematsu died of respiratory failure at the age of 86. Hundreds of people came to his service at Oakland, California.
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In 2010, the state of California made January 30 Fred Korematsu's Day. This is the first day in the US named after an Asian American.
