Mits Koshiyama Interview Segment 10

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ddr-densho-122-10-10 (Legacy UID: denshovh-kmits-03-0010)

Writing an article about camp: "I thought I should tell the truth"

This interview was conducted by filmmaker Frank Abe for his 2000 documentary, Conscience and the Constitution, about the World War II resisters of conscience at the Heart Mountain incarceration camp. As a result, the interviews in this collection are typically not life histories, instead primarily focusing on issues surrounding the resistance movement itself.

00:02:15 — Segment 10 of 12

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August 15 & 16, 1993

Frank Abe Collection

Frank Abe Collection

Courtesy of Frank Abe

ddr-densho-122-10

Mits Koshiyama

Mits Koshiyama Interview

00:37:46 — 12 segments

August 15 & 16, 1993

Los Angeles, California

Nisei male. Born August 7, 1924, in Mountain View, California. Grew up in the Santa Clara Valley, California, working on his family's leased strawberry farm. In June of 1942, he was involuntarily "evacuated" to Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, then to Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. Graduated from high school in camp and at the age of 19, refused induction into the military on the grounds that the incarceration violated his Constitutional rights as an American citizen. Served two years at McNeil Island federal penitentiary, Washington. Later resettled in California and established a flower nursery business with his brother.

(This interview was conducted by filmmaker Frank Abe for his 2000 documentary, Conscience and the Constitution, about the World War II resisters of conscience at the Heart Mountain incarceration camp. As a result, the interviews in this collection are typically not life histories, instead primarily focusing on issues surrounding the resistance movement itself.)

Frank Abe, interviewer

Frank Abe Collection

Courtesy of Frank Abe

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