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Guide to the Ken Tamura Papers
H.Mss.1052
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Title: Ken Tamura Papers
Dates: 1893-2014
Collection number: H.Mss.1052
Creator:
Tamura, Ken
Extent:
0.4 linear feet
(1 document box + 1 oversized folder)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: This collection consists of a variety of materials from Ken Tamura’s life. Ken Tamura was 2nd generation Japanese American
born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, in 1923. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, his family was sent to a relocation
center in Pomona (California), and then relocated to Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming. In 1942, an old friend was
able to sponsor Ken Tamura to leave the internment facility, and he moved to Chicago. In 1944, he was drafted by the United
States Army into a Nisei regiment, which was sent to France to fight. At the end of World War II, he was forced to continue
his service in the military in Japan, serving as a translator. This collection has a photograph album of a child growing up
including birthday cards, photographs of people in Japanese American internment camps, such as Tule Lake and Rohwer Relocation
Center, and photographs of friends and family. The collection also contains a letter about the creation of Japanese tea from
Griggs, Cooper, and Company.
This collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
[Identification of item], Ken Tamura Papers (H.Mss.1052), Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont University
Consortium.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased, 2013.
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processed by Phoebe Huth in 2014 in the Claremont Center for Engagement with Primary Sources (CCEPS), with assistance from
Lisa Crane. Photographs were placed in mylar sleeving. A photograph album was disbound and the pages were placed in mylar
sleeves.
Biographical/Historical Information
Ken Tamura was a 2nd generation Japanese American born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, in 1923, where he attended elementary, middle,
and high school. His family visited Japan in 1939 and then moved to Los Angeles in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
in December of 1941, his family was sent to a relocation center in Pomona, and then relocated to Heart Mountain internment
camp in Wyoming. In 1942, an old friend was able to sponsor Ken Tamura to leave the internment facility, and he moved to Chicago.
However, in 1944, he was drafted by the United States Army into a Nisei regiment, which was sent to France to fight. At the
end of World War II, he was forced to continue his service in the military in Japan, serving as a translator. By the end of
1945, he was finally discharged and moved back to Chicago, where he lived with his family.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
This collection consists of a variety of materials from Ken Tamura’s life. Photographs include a portrait, school photographs,
people on vacation, a football game, and people saying good-bye on a train. This collection also contains a photograph album
of a child growing up which includes birthday cards, photographs of people in Japanese American internment camps, such as
Tule Lake and Rohwer Relocation Center, and photographs of friends and family. Lastly, this collection contains a letter about
the creation of Japanese tea from Griggs, Cooper, and Company.
Collection is arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.
Related materials providing information on Japanese American internment may be found in the following collections in the Honnold/Mudd
Library Special Collections:
•H.Mss.0926, War Relocation Authority Records
•H.Mss.1048, Kenzo Robert Koike Papers
•H.Mss.1049, Yamano Japanese Internment Collection
•H.Mss.1047, Kruska Japanese Internment Collection
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library’s online public access catalog.
Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans -- Archives
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans
Photograph albums
Photographs