Day 150 - Internment Camp Survivor

5/30/2010
Shown here are Mr. Arthur Ogami and his wife Kimiko, who were on the way to Bismark, ND. Mr. Ogami, a nisei, a US citizen born and raised in California, was interned after Pearl Harbor at the camp in Manzanar, CA for 2 years. He then was moved to the camp at Tule Lake, CA where he was kept for another year. Then he and his parents were sent to Ft. Lincoln in ND. His parents wanted to be exchanged for POW's so that they could go home to Japan. He also renounced his citizenship to keep his family together. Mr. Ogami spent 7 years working at a US military hospital in Japan where he met his wife. Then with the help of the commander he was able to regain his citizenship and return to California. He is in ND to help dedicate a memorial to those who were kept at that camp.
In his words, "I am part of little known US history."

and on a side note, he said that Pat Nixon was one of his HS teachers in Whittier, CA (before she was married!)