Experiences of Oregon's Japanese American Internees

Speaker: Henry Sakamoto, Alice Sumida, George Azumano and Kennie Namba Three former University of Oregon students and a veteran of the all-Japanese 442nd Infantry Regiment, all interned at Minidoka, Idaho.

Henry Sakamoto was born and raised in Portland, the third son of Japanese immigrant parents. He graduated from High School while incarcerated in the Minidoka War Relocation Camp, Idaho, and had to begin college at the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, because the West Coast exclusion order on Japanese Americans. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947 and finally received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon in June 1951. He is a past-President of the Oregon Nikkei Endowment and was instrumental in helping to create the Japanese American Historical Plaza and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in Portland.

Alice Sumida was a newly arrived freshman at the University of Oregon in September 1942, when she was ordered to internment at Minidoka. Subsequently, she was able to leave to continue higher education and eventually became a registered nurse. She was one of twenty Japanese American former students forced to leave the University in 1942 who were awarded honorary degrees by the U of O last year. Her husband and Henry Sakamoto were roommates at the U of O in French Hall Veterans Dormitory from 1948-51.

George Azumano was born in Portland, and received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U. of O in June 1940. In 1941, he was drafted into the U.S Army for basic training, but in February 1942 was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps. A few weeks later he was ordered to report for internment in downtown Portland, and was subsequently sent to Minidoka. In 1943 he found temporary employment as a laborer in an car battery manufacturing company in Dayton, Ohio. He was married in Minidoka internment camp, and after recovering from TB worked as an office clerk at an Ordnance Depot in Tooele, Utah from October 1944 until June 1946. After the War he became an insurance agent and then began his own travel business.

Kennie Namba was interned with his parents and siblings at Minidoka in 1942, from where he volunteered for the all-Japanese 442nd Infantry Division. He served in Allied actions in France, Italy and Austria, and in 1944 received a Purple Heart after being seriously injured in combat.

Presented by: Department of Architecture

Date(s): Wed. 5/6/2009
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Price: Free

Contact: Kevin Nute
Email: knute@uoregon.edu

Important Note:
This event is open to the public.

Address:
Lawrence Hall
1190 Franklin Blvd.
Eugene, OR, 97403

Room: LA 177

Maps/Parking:
UO Eugene Campus - Maps and Information
UO Portland - White Stag Building
UO Portland Center - Map and Directions
UO Campus - Parking and Information