Former San Jose Mayor, congressman, presidential cabinet member and San Jose’s favorite son…Secretary Norman Mineta, was just local Cub Scout when world war II came to the united states.

Panic griped the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the target of that fear and hysteria were the Japanese Americans. Within three months President Roosevelt had signed executive order 9066 that called for the forcible evacuation of 120,000 Japanese-Americans. Norman Mineta and his family were among that number.