In 1913, Yoneda's father, now diagnosed with tuberculosis, took the family to Japan to live in their native village just outside Hiroshima.

On entering the U.S., though he was an American citizen carrying his birth certificate, he was detained at the Immigration Detention House on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay for two months.

During his three-month recovery, Elaine went to San Francisco to work for the International Labor Defense group.

He was offered the job of editing the Japanese Communist publication Rodo Shimbun and moved to San Francisco to take it.

The bosses and police, determined to stop the strike, opened fire on the strikers, killing two and wounding several others.

[5] In 1942, Karl, Elaine, and son Tom were unjustly incarcerated at Manzanar following the signing of Executive Order 9066.

He served in the United States Military Intelligence Service as a Japanese language specialist in China, Burma and India.

After the war, Elaine and Karl continued to work throughout their lives for the unions and anti-war efforts.