A Japanese-American, Ueno was one of many who were rounded up and put in internment camps during World War II. As a loyal American, he thought the prison camps were unfair, and said so.
“He challenged the internment when it happened, and there weren’t too many of us who did that,” says William Hohri, another internee and the leader of the National Council for Japanese American Redress. “He also had a family with kids, so he was really sticking his neck out during the war.” Ueno also spoke out against the corruption of Manzanar camp guards, speaking out when he discovered they were selling sugar on the black market; it was meant for internees.
He was arrested for his trouble and spent 3-1/2 years in various jails, part of that time in solitary confinement, even though he was never charged with a crime or given a hearing. After the war, Ueno was given $15 and a one-way train ticket to San Jose, Calif., where he worked raising strawberries and cherries until he retired in 1972. While he felt no amount of money would be enough to repay him for the indignities he suffered, he supported calls for redress to Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned. That finally happened in 1989, when Pres. George H.W. Bush signed legislation to pay each internee $20,000 for their loss of property and freedom — which came with an apology. Ueno died December 14 in San Jose from pneumonia. He was 97.