On Memorial Day, we remember those who died in Topaz or fighting for their country during WWII.
Memorial cranes. Courtesy of Ruth Sasaki. The sign in the photo was made by schoolchildren in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, believed to be Mr. Wakasa’s hometown. It was presented to researcher Nancy Ukai when she traveled there searching for Wakasa family members.
At the ceremony to honor the dead which was held in Delta, UT on April 22, 2023, I offered cranes for those to whom I had (or felt) a personal connection:
Fukumatsu Morikawa was my grandmother’s older brother.
Eddie Oda was the orphan who was taken in by my grandmother’s family along with his brothers when his father died. Eddie died of tuberculosis in the Topaz Hospital days short of his 24th birthday. His story is told in “The Oda Boys.”
S/SGT John Harano, a Berkeley boy who volunteered from Topaz, was killed at the age of 20 rescuing “The Lost Battalion” in France in 1944. His story is told in “Go For Broke.”
Toku Harano, John’s mother, died in Topaz after John had deployed to Europe.
T/SGT Tom Sagimori was another Berkeley volunteer. Both he and John Harano were remembered by Nisei friends who knew their families in or before Topaz.
Mary Takeuchi died of cancer in Topaz at 25. She was Yae Wada’s friend.
Roho Mayeda was 57 when he was crushed by the hydraulic hoist of the dump truck he was operating. I offered the crane for his granddaughter, Marian.
I offered a crane for Isano Shibata, grandmother of my friends Martha and Mary.
These individuals were more than just names–they were people with stories and families before their lives were cut short.
Ruth Sasaki
Topaz Stories Editor
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
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Media Coverage:
Read Internee’s story told with ‘Topaz Collages’ (Wheel of Dharma, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 2023).
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)