(First soldier visits)
(From the Topaz Times, October 14, 1942)
First nisei soldier to visit Topaz was Toku?i Yamamoto, technical corporal, formerly of Lodi, who came last Saturday to visit Sumi Adachi of 5–12–B. Yamamoto is living in Salt Lake City on a 15 day furlough; he has been in the Army 18 months and is stationed at Fort Custer, Michigan.
Previous to Yamamoto‘s visit, nisei soldiers were not permitted to enter WRA centers. But a special regulation issued recently by the San Francisco headquarters of the WRA stipulates that soldiers of Japanese ancestry serving in the Armed Forces may visit the centers, provided they have approved furlough papers and a travel permit.*
“We’re glad to see this come through,“ said James Hughes, assistant Director of the Project. “It’s been hard turning those young soldiers back at the gate when they came to visit their friends and relatives.“
(Excerpts from the Daily Log of the WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY Central Utah Relocation Project, Project Reports Division, Historical Section. Topaz, Utah)
OCTOBER 15 (1942)
FIRST MOVIES — The first movies were shown at Topaz in Rec 22.The main feature was “Daltans Ride Again,” with Broderick Crawford.
FINAL CONTINGENT — The last contingent, 308 people, from Tanforan arrived at 1:47 p.m. A crowd of 500 welcomed the group.
FIRST FIRE — The first fire periled the City’s temporary highschool building in Block 32. Residents discovered and extinguished the fire at 4 a.m.
STUDENT RELOCATION — Two more students, Ida Shimanouchi and Yosh Hibino*, left here at 1:30 p.m. for further study in colleges.
SKETCHES — C. N. Kawakami’s 40 water color sketches of Tanforan and Nevada were exhibited at Dining Hall 2.
* Read Eugene Takei’s story, “Test Case,” about one of the first attempts by a Nisei soldier to visit his family in Topaz.
**Yosh Hibino, while studying at the University of Texas at Austin, received a letter from his father, Junzo, who was still in Topaz. Junzo shared terrible news about events in Topaz in April 1943. Read “Letter to a Nisei Son.”
Previous “Daily Log” entries:
October 12-13: “Jankee”
October 7-9: Fresnans, Santa Anitans arrive
October 3-5: Tar
September 29-October 1: Community Council
September 27-28: Dust, new arrivals
September 23-26: Outside workers, lost and found
September 22: First baby
September 18-21: First frost
September 17: First group arrives
September 15: Topaz Times launched
September 11: Welcome to Topaz
The Topaz Stories Team
Plan to visit the Topaz Stories Exhibit in Salt Lake City before it closes on December 31, 2022.
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
Follow us on Instagram @topazstories
Media Coverage:
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)