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.