HEARING  OUR  VOICES

Aiko Wada: Interned at Gila River, Arizona

 

Age at time of internment: 13years old

Camp name: Gila River

Location: Arizona on the Gila River Indian Reservation

Time of internment: 1942 August- 1945 August

Culture: American of Japanese descent

 

Aiko Wada was born and raised in the United States of America. She had 3 brothers and 4 sisters. Mrs. Wada lived with her family in Southgate, California. There they had a 17 acre farm and mainly grew strawberries. After her release from camp Aiko and her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. After spending some time there, she would eventually move back to the family farm in Southgate, California.

 

Info on Camp:

The camp was located on the Gila River Indian Reservation 50 miles southeast of Phoenix. This camp consisted of two sites separated by a distance of 3-1/2 miles. This camp was seen as the most relaxed of all the camps. There was only one watchtower and the fences were taken down early. The administrators were also very sympathetic to the Japanese-Americans as they allowed them access to Phoenix and recreational activities in the surrounding desert.

 

Camp origin and closing

Construction of the camp began on May 1, 1942. Camp officially opened on July 20, 1942. People from this camp were from the Sacramento Delta Arena, Fresno County and Los Angeles Area. Canal camp closed on September 28, 1945, and Butte closed on November 10, 1945.