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By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP
Sports Writer
June 13, 2004
ST. PETERS, Mo. (AP) -- Gary Hirai has never
been to Japan. He doesn't speak Japanese. He nicknamed his daughter ``Kimiko,''
but has no idea what it means in the language of his ancestral land.
Hirai is an American through and through,
proudly sending off his child to represent the United States at the Olympic
Games.
``It all fits together perfectly, as far as
I'm concerned,'' said Hirai, whose daughter, Kimiko Soldati, won a spot on
the U.S. diving team at trials in suburban St. Louis.
There's no bitterness about where his life
began. Hirai was born in February 1945 while his family was locked up in an
Idaho internment camp, their freedom snatched away simply because of their
Japanese heritage.
It didn't matter that Hirai's parents were
born in this country, loyal Americans living in Seattle when Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor and lured their country into World War II.
Like thousands of other Japanese-Americans,
Hirai's parents were uprooted from their home and sent off to a de facto
prison, considered a threat to national security simply because of their
family tree.
``How do you think that would make you feel?''
said Hirai's 89-year-old mother, Mae. ``I really don't even like to think
about it. We just had to take it. But we went through a lot of suffering.''
The family had a car and had just bought a
home when word came that they had to ``evacuate'' by a certain date. They
were basically allowed to take the clothes they could carry -- nothing else.
``We had to leave everything just the way it
was,'' Mae Hirai remembered Sunday. ``I even left the doilies on our table
tops.''
The family hastily sold their home and car --
at a loss -- and boarded a train for a relocation camp in California. In
all, they spent three years in confinement, most of it at a camp in Twin
Falls, Idaho.
Mae's husband was allowed out to work in a
nearby sawmill, earning $16 a month. The rest of his family lived behind a
fence, confined to one small room in a barracks, sharing meals and bathroom
facilities with their fellow detainees.
``It was really monotonous,'' Mae said.
``There wasn't much to do.''
The family was released shortly before the war
ended in 1945, having gone through their entire savings during the ordeal.
They remained in Idaho and got to work rebuilding their life.
Gary, who spent only two months in
confinement, said his parents never talked much about the past. They didn't
want to pass along any bitterness to their four children.
``They wanted us to be so ingrained with being
Americans,'' he said.
Gary calls his a typical American life. He
grew up in the tiny Idaho town of Cascade, graduating in a high school class
that numbered a dozen. He went to college, graduating with a degree in
physical therapy. He got a job in Colorado, married, raised two kids.
In a nod to his family history, Hirai did a
college paper on America's policy toward citizens of Japanese descent during
the war.
``I wanted to learn a little bit more about
it,'' he said. ``Maybe there's some people who aren't event aware of what
happened. That bothers me some, that people don't know our history. But
that's about it.''
Hirai's daughter, whose actual name is
Kimberly Mae, will be competing in the Olympics for the first time, an
amazing story in her own right. At 30, Soldati was the oldest diver at the
trials, a former gymnast who didn't start diving seriously until she went to
college.
As a teenager, she had to deal with the death
of her mother, Judy, who lost a lengthy battle with breast cancer at age 43.
Soldati now wears her mother's wedding ring when she competes.
Also, her athletic career has been plagued by
injuries, requiring four shoulder surgeries and two knee operations. She
persevered, finally winning a long-sought Olympic berth on the 3-meter
springboard.
Soldati's family rooted her on at the St.
Peters Rec-Plex, wearing T-shirts with ``Kimiko'' written on the front,
``USA Diving'' on the back.
``I'm proud of my heritage and proud of my
family,'' Soldati said. ``I have a whole crowd of Japanese cheering for me,
and it's awesome. My family is extremely important to me.''
Growing up, she constantly asked questions
about her family's background. Her father didn't hide the details, but never
showed any signs of animosity.
``It's always there,'' Hirai said. ``It's just
an underlying thing.''
In 2001, Soldati got a chance to return to the
land of her forefathers, representing the United States at the world
championships in Japan.
``She had a great time,'' Hirai recalled.
``They let her carry the flag (at the opening ceremonies). It was neat
experience for her.''
Hirai feels the same way now. In just one
generation, his family has gone from prisoners to Olympians.
``How can I complain?'' Hirai said. ``I've had
a great life. Good schooling. Great kids. You're not going to get any
complaints from me, especially now.''
His mother sat in the stands, a strand of red
and blue stars resting atop her white hair.
Asked what it meant to have a granddaughter
representing the country that once locked her up, tears formed in her eyes.
``I can't even tell you what this means,'' she
said. ``I'm so proud.''
An American through and through.
Updated on Sunday, Jun 13, 2004
7:16 pm EDT
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