Nisei female. Born September 5, 1928, in Tacoma, Washington, moved with her family to Seattle at age four. At age six, began singing, taking voice lessons and performing on stage for Japanese American community events. In 1942, was incarcerated with her family at Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho, where she continued to sing …

Nisei male. Born January 14, 1917, in Olympia, Washington. Raised in Washington before attending the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated in 1940. Earned medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and completed his residency at Harvard Medical School in 1949. Served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and …

Nisei female. Born 1923 in Spokane, Washington. Spent childhood in downtown Spokane where parents ran the Oriental Laundry. Family was active with the Methodist Episcopal Church and mother taught at the Japanese Language School. Attended Lewis & Clark High School. Remembers changes in the Japanese American community brought about by World War II. Husband, Sumio Tai, …

Nisei male. Born May 9, 1917, in Walnut Grove, California. Parents worked at Canal Ranch, an agricultural community, where they grew produce for Libby, McNeill & Libby. Parents also owned and ran a bar in Walnut Grove. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, removed to the Merced Assembly Center, California, and Granada (Amache) concentration camp, Colorado. …

Nisei male. Born August 28, 1920, in Los Angeles, California. Grew up in the Glendale area, where father ran a gardening business. Was in college at UC Berkeley when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. During World War II, removed to the Manzanar concentration camp, California. Left camp to work in Chicago. Drafted into the army and served …

Nisei female. Born May 10, 1918, in Portland, Oregon. Grew up in the small town of Brooks, Oregon, where parents ran a farm. Prior to World War II, became a nurse, married, and had a child. During World War II, removed to the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and the Tule Lake concentration camp, California, and worked …

Nisei male. Born June 24, 1927, in Terminal Island, California. Grew up on Terminal Island, where father was a fisherman. Lived in Japan for a short time in 1941. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, moved to Compton after the Japanese Americans were excluded from Terminal Island. Removed to the Manzanar concentration camp, California. After leaving …

Sansei female. Born September 29, 1936, in Canete, Peru. Grew up in Peru where parents ran a successful store. During World War II, father was arrested by the FBI and removed from the family. Elsa and her mother and siblings were deported from Peru and taken by ship to the Crystal City internment camp, Texas, and …

Nisei male. Born April 2, 1932, in San Diego, California. Prior to World War II, father worked as a fisherman and mother worked in a fish cannery. Father passed away at an early age, leaving mother to raise eight children. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, temporarily moved to Sunnydale, California, before being sent to the …

Nisei male. Born October 8, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. During World War II, mother and father received special dispensation to delay going to the Santa Anita Assembly Center to give birth. After Susumu was born, the family was sent to Santa Anita and then the Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming, and later transferred to Tule …

Born May 23, 1936, in Callao, Peru. Spent early childhood in Peru, where parents ran a laundry business, and father was a prominent community leader. During World War II, the FBI arrested Jimmy's father and the entire family was placed on a ship and sent to the Department of Justice camp at Crystal City, Texas. After …

Nisei female. Born October 26, 1927, in Los Angeles, California. Grew up in several cities in California where father was a minister, but was living in Riverside, California, when World War II broke out. During the war, removed to the Poston concentration camp, Arizona. Left camp to finish high school in Ohio, then attended UC Berkeley …

Nisei male. Born October 23, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. Grew up in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, where parents ran a dry cleaning business. During World War II, removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and the Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. After leaving camp, lived for a time in a trailer park …

Nisei male. Born August 3, 1923, in Portland, Oregon. Grew up in Portland, where father was a physician in Japantown. Was attending college prior to World War II. During the war, removed to the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Left camp to attend college before being drafted in 1944. Served in …

Nisei male. Born January 31, 1933, in Portland, Oregon. Grew up in Portland, where parents ran a general merchandise store. During World War II, removed to the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Left camp for the East Coast because parents wanted to repatriate to Japan. Did not secure a place on …

Nisei female. Born August 26, 1934, in San Francisco, California. Grew up in San Francisco's Japantown neighborhood, where father ran a carpentry business. During World War II, removed to the Tanforan Assembly Center, California, and the Topaz concentration camp, Utah. After leaving camp, returned to San Francisco with parents and finished high school. While still in …

Nisei-Sansei female. Born in February 24, 1934, in Mosier, Oregon. Grew up in Mosier, where parents worked on an orchard and did truck farming. During World War II, removed to the Pinedale Assembly Center, California, and the Tule Lake concentration camp, California. Following the so-called "loyalty questionnaire" in 1943, family transferred to the Topaz concentration camp, …

Nisei male. Born March 20, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, where father worked as a photographer. During World War II, removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and Jerome concentration camp, Arkansas, transferring to Gila River concentration camp, Arizona. After leaving camp, moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Moved to Guadalupe, California, living in a Buddhist church …

Sansei female. Born February 16, 1941, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Grew up in Honolulu where father worked as an insurance agent and mother was a teacher. Attended Punahou school. After World War II, attended Smith College and Columbia University before marrying and returning to Hawaii. Began career as a teacher and then switched to librarianship. Became involved …

Nisei male. Born February 1, 1933, in San Francisco, California. Grew up in San Francisco's Japantown, where father edited a bilingual newspaper. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, removed to the Pomona Assembly Center, California, and the Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. After leaving camp, lived for a time in Salt Lake City, Utah, before returning …

Sansei male. Born December 2, 1953, in Brogan, Oregon. Grew up primarily in the Watsonville, California, area, where parents ran a farm. Exposed at an early age to activism and organized labor. Attended Stanford University and then moved to Seattle, Washington, and earned a nursing credential. Has joined and led several prominent Seattle-area taiko (Japanese drum) …

Sansei male. Born October 5, 1935, in Santa Monica, California. Raised in Berkeley, California, where father worked as a salesman. Removed to Tanforan Assembly Center, California, and Topaz concentration camp, Utah. Mother had difficult time in camp. Family was one of the last to leave Topaz. Resettled in Salt Lake City and, with sister, sent to …

Nisei female. Born August 31, 1935, in Los Angeles, California. Grew up in Gardena, where father was a prominent community leader and principal of the Japanese language school. During World War II, removed with family to the Stockton Assembly Center, California, and the Rohwer concentration camp, Arkansas. Left camp along with a group of Japanese American …

Nisei male. Born June 29, 1933, in Graham, Washington. Moved with family at an early age to Los Angeles, California, where father owned and operated a kamaboko business. During World War II, removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and the Rohwer concentration camp, Arkansas. After leaving camp, lived briefly with family in a trailer …

Nisei male. Born July 12, 1931, in Saratoga, California. Grew up in Saratoga, where father worked as a gardener on a large estate. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, father moved the family inland to Reedley in an attempt to avoid mass removal. Eventually removed to Poston concentration camp, Arizona. After leaving camp, returned to California …