Kenzo R. Koike was a Japanese American, born in 1920 in Seattle, Washington. At the age of 12, his family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended middle school, high school, and college. In 1942, the Koike family was removed from their Los Angeles home and sent to Heart Mountain Relocation center in Wyoming. By 1943, Kenzo Koike was drafted into the United States Army, where he served as a translator in Japan from 1945 to 1946. This collection includes documents and photographs from Koike’s youth in Seattle and Los Angeles, including diplomas, year books, and registration cards. It also contains military documents and photographs from Koike’s time in Japan, depicting bombings after World War II, traditional Japanese dress, and Koike’s relatives. In addition, a garrison hat and an aviator hat from the war are located in this collection. Postcards of barracks in Fort Sheridan and correspondence with Koike’s peers in Seattle are also in this collection.

2 linear feet (4 document box + 1 clamshell box)

All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.

This collection is open for research.