Some of the hardest times for me during those years were once we left camp in 1944 to go to New York. I was still in high school. People were very unkind, and it was difficult to go to school when I didn’t know anyone. I will always remember a small group of Puerto Rican girls who asked me to eat lunch with them. We became good friends, my first friends in New York.
I returned to California after I married and my husband was offered a job at the University of California, Davis. Now I am 95 years old and live with my children in Southern California. But I continued to attend my Class of ‘45 Topaz High Reunions, as long as there were classmates around to organize and attend them.
I still have my high school yearbook, and it was signed by my classmates with memories and nicknames, reminding me that everyone—friends, coaches, my parents—tried to make things feel normal for us, as if we were typical teens in a peaceful world. It’s a testament to their effort that one of my most enduring memories of Topaz is of our winning season.
About the contributor: Mitsi (Mitsuko) Nakamizo Fuchigami was born in San Francisco in 1928. Her father worked in the import/export business and the family lived on Buchanan St. until the forced removal. She, her parents and two older sisters were incarcerated in Tanforan, then Topaz, where Mitsi played on the girls’ basketball team. The family left Topaz and resettled in New York in 1944. Mitsi returned to California after marrying, and currently lives in Southern California.
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