Learn about Ken’s roots in this program about his mother and father. Take a cue from Ephesians and honor your parents because it’s right.
JONI: Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and Ken Tada is in the studio!
KEN: I am!
JONI: I love it when you come here Ken Tada!
KEN: I love it being here with you Joni.
JONI: You know, looking at you sitting there and thinking about some recent memories. It all comes to mind Ephesians 6:1, “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother, for this is the first commandment with a promise.” Ken, you’re amazing because your parents have been long gone to heaven, for what, decades, yet you still honor the memory of your mom and dad. And in fact, that happened recently. You and I were heading north up the 395 toward a campsite in the High Sierras. And you insisted we stop to honor your mom.
KEN: Yeah, we stopped at Manzanar. Which is one of ten relocation camps that were formed right after World War II.
JONI: Now, tell us about those relocation or internment camps. Why?
KEN: Well, the people might forget or not remember but after Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that basically all Japanese had to go to these camps.
JONI: So, your mom and your dad pretty much lost everything. Your grandparents – they had to sell their house, possessions. You’ve told me that your mother was loaded on a bus, right? Or a train?
KEN: Yeah, they were loaded in a bus in Los Angeles, and they ended up at a camp called Manzanar right near Bishop, or Long Pine.
JONI: Tell us about the camp because you and I saw the remnants of it on our recent trip.
KEN: Well, I guess the thing that hit me Joni, I saw it on a recent trip. But the one trip I had taken, and I was basically by myself. I went in the little museum they have there – was my mom’s name on the scroll! And it hit me that she was interned here. And I went out to the barracks where she was interned and realized as I got out of my vehicle, and I walked around looked at the foundation, it was hot! I mean it was [you know] it was hot when we went there in July. So, I went back in my vehicle that had air conditioning, and I thought well, I should go home now. It hit me – they couldn’t go home. They were going to be there for however long they were going to be there. And it was cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and you know, it gave me a whole different appreciation for my folks.
JONI: Absolutely. The Manzanar internment camp is situated at the base of Mount Whitney, right on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It is desolate, it is dry, and as you said, ice cold in the winter. And there certainly wasn’t any heat in those barracks. And unbearably hot in the summer. But you know what I love about your mom and your dad and others? Your aunt and uncle who were interned? The Japanese community were pretty innovative and very creative, right?
KEN: Absolutely. They brought baseball in, they had dances, they had art classes and…
JONI: Gardening?
KEN: It wasn’t the same as being at home, but they tried to make it that way.
JONI: I think it’s amazing that many Japanese people volunteered to go to these internment camps because they wanted to show, they wanted to prove they were good Americans.
KEN: Yeah, I think once they were in the camps, this is one of the ways that they were able to demonstrate this by their loyalty. I mean, they were American citizens. But the only way they can show that is to do what they were asked to do.
JONI: Yup, they raised the flag every day and saluted it. Thank you, Ken, for every time we drive up the Eastern Sierras, you want to stop and honor your mom at Manzanar. Friend, I don’t know if you have good memories about your parents, but remember you have a heavenly Father who is invested heavily in your heart. So, again, take it as a cue. Ephesians 6: “Honor your father and mother because this is right…”
KEN: Absolutely.
© Joni and Friends