John Nakada will speak on Japanese-American internment during WWII at the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum on Wednesday, October 14, at 7:30 PM. The program is free and open to the public.

Cannon Beach

John Nakada was born to Japanese-American parents in California in 1931. He spent his early life with his family on farms in Southern California, until the time his life changed dramatically: December 7, 1941. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on that day, John and other Japanese-American children experienced ostracism at school. A year later, in 1942, he and his family were told to pack their suitcases and prepare for relocation to the Pomona Assembly Center, where he and his family were held for six months. They were then transferred to “relocation camps” in Wyoming, then Arizona.

After roughly two years away from home, his family was returned to their farm in Azusa, California - possibly because they had six sons serving in the US Army.

John Nakada is now involved with the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and frequently gives lectures about the Japanese-American experience of internment during the 1940s.

Source: http://www.beachconnection.net/news/reloc100509_730.php