April Gilbert’s greatgrandfather, Wasuke Hirota, was among the over 125,000 Japanese and JapaneseAmerican detainees during World War II. While the rest of his family were released from the Pomona Assembly Center in Los Angeles on the basis of their mixedrace status in part due to his wife Rafaela’s Mexican and Native American heritage, he remained imprisoned. He died at the Heart Mountain incarceration camp in 1944, two years after arriving.

Reclaiming Identity, the story of Gilbert’s journey to recover a lost part of her family history, is a short film produced by Ancestry and the Atlantic’s inhouse creative studio, Re:think. Using census recordsavailable on Ancestry.com, Gilbert traces the moment her family’s identity was documented as “White,” instead of “Japanese” and learns about the incredible life and tragic death of her greatgrandfather.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/AncestrySubscribe

About Ancestry:
Start your family history journey today with Ancestry®. With our massive collection of historical records, access to family trees, and DNA technology, we’re here to help you discover your personal history.

Connect with Ancestry:
Visit Ancestry’s Official Site: https://www.ancestry.com/
Like Ancestry on Facebook: http://bit.ly/AncestryFB
Follow Ancestry on Twitter: http://bit.ly/AncestryTwitter
Follow Ancestry on Instagram: http://bit.ly/AncestryIG