In 1945, after World War II ended, all Hawaii Japanese who had been interned or relocated were released and allowed to return to their homes in the islands. Unfortunately, many of them had no homes to return to, all their earthly possessions having been taken from them. In the 1980s, forty years after the fact, the United States government finally acknowledged that it had made a mistake, and agreed to pay each of the survivors $20,000 in reparations.
Many had already died.
Not one Hawaii Japanese man or woman was ever convicted of espionage or sabotage against the United States of America. In fact thousands of Hawaii Japanese gave their lives fighting for the United States. In 1943, the mainly Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army was formed, and became one of the army’s most decorated units of World War II. The 442nd earned more than 18,000 individual medals of valor, including a Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 588 Silver Stars, and more than 9,000 Purple Hearts.