Eiichi “H.E.” KAmiya

Eiichi "H.E." KAmiya
Camp: Rohwer, AR Address: 38-11-A My father was born in Hawaii, went to Japan at age 5 when his father died, but returned to the U.S. at the age of 19. My mother was born in CA, went to Japan for education at age 5, and returned to the US at age 15. My father was the principal of a Japanese language school in Long Beach, CA. I was born in 1936 and had two sisters. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, my parents were afraid of the impacts on our family. Soon thereafter, the FBI searched our house and took my father to prison for several weeks. In March, 1942, we were given a few weeks notification of evacuation. Since we could only take what we could carry, most of our family possessions and valuables were put in storage. Many of our valuables would be missing after the war. Our suitcases included baby clothes, baby bottles, diapers, etc. for my six month old sister. On April 5, we were sent to an assembly center at the Santa Anita horse racing track in Arcadia, CA; the next day was my sixth birthday. But, my sisters were in the hospital with pneumonia so they joined us a few days later. We lived in horse stalls and slept on straw mattresses. We stayed at Santa Anita for 3 months awaiting completion of our camp. We took a train to a camp in Jerome, Arkansas. After 3 months we went to a camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. Rohwer had about 9000 people living in a mile square. This area was hot, rainy, with all kinds of bugs and snakes. Our family lived in one room of a barrack. We had schools and studied the traditional lessons. I remember being an Indian chief We had no toy store so we made them ourselves with a few scraps and lots of imagination. We would play soldier, and cowboys and Indians. We would hunt with slingshots. When guards no longer patrolled the barbed wire fences, we would crawl out and go to the bayou to fish. A week before the end of the war, we returned to Los Angeles. My father found a job at a coat factory and rented a house in east L.A. My mother worked as a house keeper and took in ironing. My parents would talk of our camp experiences without sadness or bitterness. They encouraged us to excel as students and citizens. My father went to school at night and built a successful business, and was able to send us all to college. My sisters became teachers. I got my BS and MS in Engineering from UCLA and worked in the aerospace industry until my recent retirement. I am married and we have two children who have completed college and are married.

Eiichi "H.E." KAmiya

    Camp: Rohwer, AR
    Address: 38-11-A
    My father was born in Hawaii, went to Japan at age 5 when his father died, but returned to the U.S. at the age of 19. My mother was born in CA, went to Japan for education at age 5, and returned to the US at age 15. My father was the principal of a Japanese language school in Long Beach, CA. I was born in 1936 and had two sisters.
    When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, my parents were afraid of the impacts on our family. Soon thereafter, the FBI searched our house and took my father to prison for several weeks.
    In March, 1942, we were given a few weeks notification of evacuation. Since we could only take what we could carry, most of our family possessions and valuables were put in storage. Many of our valuables would be missing after the war. Our suitcases included baby clothes, baby bottles, diapers, etc. for my six month old sister.
    On April 5, we were sent to an assembly center at the Santa Anita horse racing track in Arcadia, CA; the next day was my sixth birthday. But, my sisters were in the hospital with pneumonia so they joined us a few days later. We lived in horse stalls and slept on straw mattresses. We stayed at Santa Anita for 3 months awaiting completion of our camp.
    We took a train to a camp in Jerome, Arkansas. After 3 months we went to a camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. Rohwer had about 9000 people living in a mile square. This area was hot, rainy, with all kinds of bugs and snakes. Our family lived in one room of a barrack. We had schools and studied the traditional lessons. I remember being an Indian chief
    We had no toy store so we made them ourselves with a few scraps and lots of imagination. We would play soldier, and cowboys and Indians. We would hunt with slingshots. When guards no longer patrolled the barbed wire fences, we would crawl out and go to the bayou to fish.
    A week before the end of the war, we returned to Los Angeles. My father found a job at a coat factory and rented a house in east L.A. My mother worked as a house keeper and took in ironing. My parents would talk of our camp experiences without sadness or bitterness. They encouraged us to excel as students and citizens. My father went to school at night and built a successful business, and was able to send us all to college. My sisters became teachers. I got my BS and MS in Engineering from UCLA and worked in the aerospace industry until my recent retirement. I am married and we have two children who have completed college and are married.

Return To Rohwer Page