This content was published: January 22, 2007. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Internment camp survivor to speak at Rock Creek
Photos and story by James Hill
A man who survived the indignity of World War II Japanese internment camps, Henry Sakamoto will speak at the Rock Creek Campus in February. Sakamoto, chairman of the Japanese Nisi, will appear at the Rock Creek Campus’ Events Center at 10 a.m. on Feb. 12.
During World War II, the United States was at war with Japan. By an executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, all Americans of Japanese descent and living in military exclusion zones on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps.
A young child at the time, Sakamoto and his family were forced to leave their home in Portland and live in the Pacific International Livestock Exposition Center, now referred to as the Expo Center in north Portland. Eventually, his family was relocated to the Minidoka Camp in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Sakamoto is now the president of the Oregon Nikkei Endowment Foundation. He also serves as the First Vice President of the Japanese Ancestral Society and is the Commander of the Oregon Nisei Veterans.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »