Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the Ken Tamura Papers
H.Mss.1052  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Overview
 
Table of contents What's This?
Description
This collection consists of a variety of materials from Ken Tamura’s life. Ken Tamura was 2nd generation Japanese American born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, in 1923. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, his family was sent to a relocation center in Pomona (California), and then relocated to Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming. In 1942, an old friend was able to sponsor Ken Tamura to leave the internment facility, and he moved to Chicago. In 1944, he was drafted by the United States Army into a Nisei regiment, which was sent to France to fight. At the end of World War II, he was forced to continue his service in the military in Japan, serving as a translator. This collection has a photograph album of a child growing up including birthday cards, photographs of people in Japanese American internment camps, such as Tule Lake and Rohwer Relocation Center, and photographs of friends and family. The collection also contains a letter about the creation of Japanese tea from Griggs, Cooper, and Company.
Extent
0.4 linear feet (1 document box + 1 oversized folder)
Restrictions
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Availability
This collection is open for research.