close-knit community.  Immigrant men fished for sardines, mackerel, and tuna that

their wives cleaned and preserved in nearby canneries. Many of their American-born

children attended programs offered at an American Baptist mission served by

Virginia Swanson.

​

The community was a peaceful backwater until World War II brought sudden awareness

that the community was surrounded by military targets— shipyards and railyards, a

naval airbase and training facility, a submarine base and large oil storage tanks. Virtually

overnight, community leaders were arrested, curfews imposed, bank accounts frozen,

fishing boats impounded. On February 9, all immigrant Issei with commericial fishing licenses were detained. On Februrary 15, residents were given 30 days to leave the island. The timetable was accelerated after a Japanese submarine shelled the coast near Santa Barbara. The following night the Los Angles sky was lit by 1500 antiaircraft shells firing at what turned out to be a stray weather balloon.

 

Three days later, Terminal Island residents were given 48 hours to leave the island. Since the government offered no assistance, Virginia Swanson reached out to Baptist, Congregational and Quaker missionaries for help.

​

​