Interviews

1. Memories of childhood in Peru

2. Forcibly deported to the U.S. from Peru

3. Food on the ship to the U.S.

4. Family welcomed at Crystal City

5. First meal at Crystal City

6. Enjoying undokai and sports in Crystal City

7. Postwar sponsorship (Inglês)

8. Immersed in Japanese culture and language

9. Proud of his Japanese, American, and Peruvian identity

Naganuma,Jimmy

(b. 1936) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

Family welcomed at Crystal City

We had a warm welcome. A warm welcome as we approached the main gate, the entrance to the camp. There were people all on either side of the street waving at us, saying, "Welcome," and then clapping, it was the people that were already there. So that was really nice. And my mother, at the time, she felt that it was safe for the family, because she saw all the faces were Asian.

Crystal City internment camp Department of Justice camps Texas United States World War II World War II camps

Date: September 20, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Tom Ikeda and Yoko Nishimura

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum and Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Jimmy Naganuma was born in Callao, Peru to his Issei parents in 1936. He was eight years old when his family were forced to board a ship, to be incarcerated at Crystal City, Texas, during World War II. They remained there even after the war had ended, without a place to go. They were able to leave via a sponsorship by a reverend in San Francisco, California, where they were able to find jobs and housing. (June 2020)