Stubborn Twig – Excerpt
And it was true that Masuo had written a letter of introduction for his son. But it was not true, as the official implied, that Min was hired because his father had great influence or connections in high places. Masuo did not.
Min tried to argue the point. “I had an excellent record in college,” he told the members of the hearing board. “I was Phi Beta Kappa. I had won speaking contests. That’s why I was hired.” In fact, several people had written letter of recommendation to the consulate for Min, including Wayne Morse, dean of the University of Oregon Law School during Min’s tenure there.
But the most damning “evidence” against Masuo came when one of the hearing officers produced drawings the FBI had confiscated during the search of the Yasuis’ home.
“Mr. Yasui, what are these?” he demanded, showing Masuo a stack of childishly drawn maps and diagrams with the name of one of his children scrawled on the bottom of each page.
Masuo looked at the drawings. “Those look like drawings of the Panama Canal,” he said.
“They are,” said the official. “These were found in your home. Can you explain why they were in your home?”
“If they were in my home, it seems to me that they were drawings done by one of my children for his schoolwork,” Masuo replied.
“Didn’t you have these maps and diagrams so you could direct the blowing up of the canal locks?”