by Roy Iwata
I was on the Topaz High School basketball team in Topaz. One of the teams we played against was the Wasatch Academy, a prep high school in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, about 80 miles from Topaz. We were invited to a Civics class there. Our team stood in front of the class comprised only of Caucasian students.
I don’t remember all the questions we were asked, but one sticks in my mind. A Wasatch student asked us how we felt about serving in the U.S. Army.
One of my teammates answered that we were not different than any other American and would go when called to duty. There was spontaneous applause by the entire class, which made us feel very welcome.
About the contributor: Roy Taichi Iwata was 12 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Roy’s family was sent to Walerga Assembly Center in Sacramento; then Tule Lake, CA; and finally, Topaz, UT in 1943. After the War, the Iwatas returned to Sacramento. Roy finished high school and joined the Army. While stationed in Japan, he married. The Iwatas settled in Sacramento and raised four children, celebrating almost 60 years of marriage. His memoir was shared with us by his daughter, Nancy Roskoff.
Copyright 2011, Roy Iwata. All rights reserved.