Sam Mihara Shares Personal Story of WWII Incarceration at Alaska Conference

At the age of 9, Sam Mihara was confined in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, where he spent his days searching for arrowheads and avoiding rattlesnakes, all while imprisoned by his own government. Now 93, the retired rocket scientist has brought his story to Alaska as a keynote speaker at the Alaska Historical Society’s annual conference, taking place at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer.

Mihara recounts his family’s life before the war in San Francisco, where his father was a newspaper writer. However, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, their life changed dramatically. Following Executive Order 9066 in 1942, Mihara’s family, like many others, was forcibly relocated to Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming. He experienced first-hand the harsh conditions and inadequate medical care that affected both his father, who went blind, and his grandfather, who died due to a lack of proper treatment. Through his speaking engagements, Mihara aims to educate others about the historical injustices faced by Japanese Americans, underscoring the importance of preventing such events from occurring again.