"Japanese-American Internment: A Personal Account" to be presented at Waterville Valley's Rey Center on Friday, August 27

WATERVILLE VALLEY — The Margret and H.A. Rey Center will present “Japanese-American Internment: A Personal Account” from 8 — 9 p.m. on Friday, August 27.

David Sakura, a resident of Waterville Valley, will give his firsthand account of two years spent at one of the nation's “War Relocation Camps” during World War II.

In the wake of Pearl Harbor, the United States government forced the relocation and internment of approximately 110,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans living along the Pacific Coast and other areas. Leaving their jobs and homes behind, internees lived in camps in desolate areas with spartan facilities. Being guarded by armed men, fenced in by barbed wire, sharing unpartitioned toilets, sleeping in cots, and fed on a budget of 45 cents daily was a typical wartime experience for America's Japanese population.

Told to leave their home near Seattle, Washington, Sakura and his family had only four days to prepare before being forced to report to a detention center in the area. Soon after they were relocated to an internment camp where they would spend two and a half years of their lives.

This presentation is a rare opportunity to hear a firsthand account of one of the darkest moments in U.S. history. For more information on this and other programs, contact the Margret and H.A. Rey Center at 236-3308 or visit www.reycenter.org.