Excerpts from Trento’s hearing bear on the reason for his internment—that he had never applied for American citizenship after 18 years in the United States, which the hearing board found reason enough to recommend internment. But in this excerpt, he explains that he never applied because of his fear about not speaking English well enough to ask or answer questions.

Guido and Olga Trento’s residence in 1941, at 1447 Greenwich St., San Francisco