The following interview was recorded on February 15, 2025 in Tucson, AZ. The interviewer is Arlene Watkins.

Carolyn Hanano Skinner was born in 1940 in San Diego, CA. She passed in 2025 in Tucson, AZ. Carolyn was the eldest of 3 children born to Rokuichi and Mitsuye (Mary). Rokuichi left his home on an island off Hiroshima as a teenager, traveling to Mexico and crossing the Rio Grande to enter Los Angles. He worked as a landscaper in San Diego and was introduce to Mary, a Nisei. In 1941, Carolyn and her mother were ordered to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, a temporary detention facility, and her father was scheduled for deportation to Japan. His customers intervened with letters of support, and he was able to join his family. They went to Heart Mountain with her extended family. Her uncle helped build the barracks, and Carolyn’s brother was born there. Looking back, Carolyn recalls the shame her parents felt. Ashamed of Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor. Ashamed of being seen as the enemy and imprisoned. Carolyn and husband Donald initially faced disapproval from both families for their interracial relationship. The couple eloped and eventually settled in Tucson. After retiring, Carolyn volunteered for organizations providing humanitarian aid to migrants, including Casa Alitas and Tucson Samaritans, as well as the food bank and animal rescue groups. She felt a special connection with the migrants. She also felt the need to continue proving that “Japanese Americans are good citizens.”