Francis Okura: Interned in Omaha, NE
Before Internment Camp:
Francis Itsuko Okura was born on June 5, 1931. Her family structure consisted of a mother, father, and 8 siblings. The Okura family owned a flower shop named the Okura Florist. Her father, Hyakuta Okura, was the leader of the Okayama Kenjinkai, an organization to help Japanese immigrants from the Okayama Prefecture so that they can settle in America more comfortably. Because he was the leader of such an organization, the American government transferred the Okura family to an internment camp rather quickly.
Internment Camp:
Francis Okura and her family was placed in the Santa Anita internment camp in April of 1942. Located in Arcadia, California, Santa Anita Assembly center opened on March 27, 1942 and closed on October 27, 1942. Formerly a horse racetrack, it became the largest occupied internment camp with 18,719 occupants from Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Clara Counties, California. In order to create this temporary camp, Santa Anita's parking lot was covered with row after row of identical barracks covered with tar paper. The hastily constructed barracks were converted from horse stables. The camp was divided into seven districts and included several mess halls, a hospital, stores, a post office, classrooms, and makeshift churches in the track's grandstand. It was the only "assembly center" to run a camouflage net factory, operated under military contract. Because this was an assembly center, Japanese Americans were assembled here at first and then transferred to various locations such as Poston, Topaz, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Rohwer, Granada, and Manzanar. The Okura family was transferred to Jerome.
2nd Internment Camp:
Located in Denson, Arkansas, the Jerome Relocation center was open from October 6, 1942 to June 3, 1944. It was a heavily forested, swampy marshland that was part of the Mississippi River flood plain with mosquitoes and poisonous snakes. The land had been purchased by the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s from tax delinquent landowners who had been unable to clear and drain it. The barracks were 20' by 120' and were arranged in groups of 12 that were called "blocks". Ms. Okura recalls some jobs such as firefighters and block managers that the internees were able to perform, but with low wages. Francis Okura was also one of the 2,061 children that was attending Jerome's schools. The school were taught by only 94 white teachers.
After Internment camp:
Ms. Francis Okura was still a young child when she was in the internment camp. Thus she did not entirely understand the dire situation she was in. So as she got older, she started to realize the hardships her parents must have had to face in the internment camps. With only pocket change, she went on to become a teacher on Hawaiian Avenue Elementary School.
This is a box that Francis Okura’s father created and sent to various camps. This was made and patched up while they were in the internment camps. While the Japanese were in the internment camps, letter would be read by higher officials and some of the information on the letters would be either crossed out or censored. But Francis’s father was able to hide a letter to his wife in this box. This box was also a game for Francis and her siblings to play with.