San Jose Museum Trustee Applauds "Vanished"

This week's e-mails brought this wonderful comment from Paul DeWitt of San Jose.

I have just finished reading "Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese" and consider it to be an outstanding book.  I began studying Japanese American history when I was a Social Science teacher and Department Chair in 1988.  I am now on the Board of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose.  Over the years I have tried to find any book that described the personal histories of Issei settling in California, the confrontations they had to deal with in their communities, the incarceration in the concentration camps during World War II and the problems both Issei and Nisei faced upon their return to the coast after internment.  Yours is the first book I have read that deals with these issues on a very personal level.  Although you are writing about Lompoc's Japanese, the same conditions existed for JAs  through out the west cost.  I recommend that "Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese" be read by anyone interested in JA, WWII and California history.
Thank you
Paul DeWitt

Readers Applaud Vanished; JANM Reorders

This past weekend was a memorable one. On Saturday the Santa Maria Chapter of the American Association of University Women heard George Yoshitake and John McReynolds tell the story of Vanished. The crowd of one hundred purchased almost all the copies available as their applause filled the room.

Later in the day came the following e-mail from Marlene Silva, once of Lompoc but now of Coarsegold, with more applause. She sent it to her friend Barry:

Barry, I want to thank you again for sending me that wonderful book about the Japanese in Lompoc. That writer did a great job in writing  just how it was. I remember so well at the age of 8, my parents crying, busses waiting for people and them rushing around trying so hard to save their beloved belongings in such a short time, by passing them on to their neighbors...we were such neighbors that still have beautiful dishes and treasures that these innocent people held so dear. So many names in the book I so do remember, as the generation down were listed in my year book and many graduated with me in 1950. Many of the Inouye are still a family we keep in touch with. .I'm also glad that Tom Parks was put where he belonged...not on a pedestal where he thought he was. I didn't like him the first time we met and my feelings were right after reading the book...there are always bad guys and good guys ‘til this day, huh? I am sharing the book with the Inouye family in Santa. Maria...thanks again, good reading and I think I am going to read it the second time before  passing it on...love to all....Marlene

Then on Sunday the Japanese-American National Museum ordered a new shipment of books.  

It was a very good weekend. Thanks to AAUW, Marlene Silva, JANM and everybody.

"Vanished" Debuts on Kindle

Know friends who prefer the new e-books?

Maybe they like to pack 300 books in a single small device?

Buy them Vanished. For $9.99 it's now available on Amazon's Kindle

Irma Bortolazzo Gadway and Terry Wakumoto Kuzuhara Reconnect after Seventy Years

Last year some time Karen Paaske, one of my collaborators at the Lompoc Valley Historical Society, told me she had happened to speak with Irma Gadway of Lompoc. They spoke about the upcoming book, Vanished.  As a child growing up in Lompoc, Mrs. Gadway was Irma Bortolazzo. Mrs. Gadway told Karen that she always wondered what had happened to her friend Toyoko Wakumoto.

Later, in an e-mail exchange with me, Terry Kuzuhara of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, who was once known as Toyoko Wakumoto, mentioned her friend Irma Bortolazzo. She wondered what had ever happened to her.

In November Mrs. Kuzuhara e-mailed me noting that she had had a wonderful lunch with another Lompoc acquaintance.

“Marian Konishi and I had a very happy reunion yesterday with her sister-in-law Nancy Nishimura. This was possible because of your book,” she wrote. Then she asked for Irma Bortolazzo’s address. She wanted to send a holiday greeting.

On December 13 I was the keynote speaker at the annual Christmas meeting of the Lompoc Valley Historical Society. Who should appear in the line to purchase a book but Irma Bortolazzo Gadway. She wanted to get in touch with her friend Toyoko.

Three days later I called Illinois and left a message on the voice mail with Mrs. Gadway’s address. I also gave Mrs. Gadway the Illinois number, address and e-mail.

On December 18 Mrs. Gadway sent an e-mail to Illinois, but received no response.

On January 12 Mrs. Kuzuhara sent an e-mail to me saying “I did send a note to Irma Bortolazzo but have not heard from her.”

Somehow electrons of the Ethernet and the carriers of the United States Postal Service were passing in the night unawares.

Finally in February came this from Illinois: “Just a quick note to say that I was delighted to receive a note from Irma over the weekend. Your book made this possible.”

Four days later I received another bit of news, this from Lompoc.

“I received a Christmas card from my friend (Terry K) and it was so exciting to hear from a friend that I had wondered for seventy years what had happened to her. I’m so happy that her life in Illinois has been good. She told me the hardest thing she had to do, when the family was taken from Lompoc, was to leave her dog behind. I have written to her and hope that we continue our newfound relationship. Thank you for finding my friend. s/Irma Gadway”

Then on March 7 came this from Illinois: “A quick note to tell you that I somehow overlooked e-mail which Irma sent to me on December 18. I must have passed over her e-mail and I am very embarrassed and apologize for this. I am happy Irma wrote again via US mail and followed it by a phone call last week during which we had a long and happy reunion. The many years since 1942 melted away.”

They talked for more than two hours. The story makes someone else feel good too--me.

Documentary Film Partner is Benedict

We’re thrilled to announce that our heretofore unnamed “documentary filmmaker” now at work on a budget and film presentation package for Vanished, is Terry Benedict.

Terry, a graduate of the Pepperdine University film school, is best known for producing The Conscientious Objector, a 2004 documentary recounting the story of Desmond Doss, the only noncombatant to be awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. The film won awards at the Santa Cruz film festival and at the Heartland Film Festival.

Benedict was line producer of The Unnamable (1988), producer of Painted Hero (1997) and is now producing the documentary The Death of Reasonable Doubt.

Benedict is also the founder of The Shae Foundation whose mission is to inspire artists to recognize their God-given gift of creativity, nurture their creative spirit, and promote their accountability to society. The foundation’s website is http://shaefoundation.org/Shae/Home.html