Masaye (Nagao) Nakamura
Masaye Nakamura, a Nisei-Sansei Japanese American, describes her experiences being forcibly removed from her home and sent to Santa Anita Temporary WCCA “Assembly Center.” Nakamura recalls her diverse and inclusive high school community, where she felt comfortable as a Japanese American, and being forced to leave her studies at UCLA after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While at Santa Anita Temporary WCCA “Assembly Center,” Nakamura applied and was accepted to Park College in Missouri and continued her studies there with other Nisei students. She reflects on how she and the other students were welcomed by the school but experienced some hostility from the townspeople. Nakamura describes visiting her family at Heart Mountain WRA Concentration Camp and being affected by seeing where her parents had to live.
