Aki Iwata to Help Present

Aki Iwata, whose contribution to Vanished based on his visits to Lompoc in the early 1950s, helped contrast the vivid 1930's with the post-war era, will be present at the book's next discussion.

On Saturday, October 15, Mr. Iwata will join author John McReynolds in speaking at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose beginning at 1 p.m.

"Thank you for inviting me to say a few words," Mr. Iwata wrote yesterday. "I am planning to attend ... and will be more than happy to speak."

During the Korean War, Mr. Iwata was stationed at the Camp Cooke Disciplinary Barracks adjacent to Lompoc. He frequently visited the Inouye family, one of only two Nikkei families still living in Lompoc.

His memories of the town in those years, contrast dramatically with the vibrant place of pre-World War II and form a major part of Chapter 33.

The public is invited to the museum. It is located at 535 North Fifth Street, between Empire and Jackson in Japantown.  

San Jose Presentation One Month Away

The presentation of Vanished in San Jose is just one month away.

On Saturday, October 15, from 1 to 4 p.m., the subject at the Japanese American Museum in San Jose will be Vanished.

As Eva Yamamoto, a director of the museum, wrote yesterday:

All the promo is set and posters are going out this week. You are on our website, e-news (email newsletter), printed newsletter, posters and in the news letters of other community organization. We will also do an email invite to our membership.

John McReynolds will be there to talk about the book, answer questions, and sign. Others will be present as well. They will be announced here in coming weeks.

So, if you are anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, please consider coming to San Jose.

For further information, go to the San Jose museum website at http://www.jamsj.org/

Chapter One Figure Pictured

Thanks to Lompoc's Jim Sloan, we are now able to present a picture of Noboru Wakumoto as he looked in 1941 when he escorted Chiyo Iwamoto to the Lompoc High School Prom. This took place one week after Wakumoto competed at the Japanese-American Olympics at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and served as the basis for Chapter One of Vanished.

                                            Noboru Wakumoto on the Lompoc
                                                  High athletic field.  

Next week we will return to the still-unidentified photographs from the files of the Lompoc Police Department. .

Thirty Photos Still Unidentified

With eight photos identified from Lompoc's Nikkei community in 1941, some thirty remain still unknown.
If you have any idea who this gentleman might be, just send an email to lompocwriter@gmail.com

Already identified are Jintaro Fukawa, Akita Hasegawa, Nobujiro Inouye, Masakichi Iwamoto, Gitaro Kitaguchi, Genzo Murakami, Yasohachi Nakashima, and Kinhachi George Shibuya.

The photos date from 1941 when the Nikkei community was required to turn in their radios, cameras and firearms. The pictures were found in an abandned file cabinet at the Lompoc Police Department a monh ago.