Loyal American is a short film that follows Henry Kaku, a descendant of America’s concentration camps, as he embarks on a pilgrimage to the former camp where his family was imprisoned during the war.
Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Henry’s father, Keige Kaku, served in the U.S. Army. Shortly after the attack, he was discharged and incarcerated in a concentration camp. Outraged by his imprisonment despite his birthright citizenship and military service, Keige refused to declare his loyalty to the U.S. on a government-issued loyalty questionnaire and ultimately renounced his U.S. citizenship. He and his family were later deported to Japan, where Henry was born.
Directed by photographer and National Geographic Explorer Haruka Sakaguchi in partnership with National Geographic Society, this short film follows Henry’s journey as he reflects on the moral and existential dilemmas his father faced and contemplates the question: What does it mean to be a "loyal" American?
This film is an extension of a larger project, The Camps America Built.
Watch the film here.
