December 7, 1941, "a date
that will live in infamy," saw Japanese Imperial Forces carry out their
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order
9066, authorizing "the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to
national security from the West Coast to "relocation centers" further
inland – resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans." Following
the issuing of this Executive Order, "approximately 122,000 men, women,
and children were forcibly moved to "assembly centers." They were
then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded
"relocation centers," also known as "internment camps...Nearly
70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens."
(from https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066)
One of these assembly centers
was the Tanforan Assembly Center, located at San Bruno, California
(approximately 12 miles south of San Francisco), operated between April and
October of 1942. Between September and October of 1942, those who were detained
at the Tanforan Assembly Center were relocated to the Internment Camp at
Topaz, Utah, where they remained for the duration of World War II.
The detainees included 58-year-old Shigetaro Inouye and his wife, 53-year-old Komaye (they did not have any children); and 53-year-old Mitsuru Nakai, his wife, 43-year-old Michie, and their sons, 21-year-old Michikazu, and 14-year-old Hirokazu. Shigetaro and Komaye Inouye had resided in the United States for many years, as had Mitsuru and Michie Nakai. The Nakai's two sons, Michikazu and Hirokazu, were born in the United States. Both families lived in San Francisco when Executive Order 9066 was issued.
Between June and August of 1942, both families were visited by Frances Nemetzky. On June 21, 1942, Frances visited the Nakai family, and brought with her two packages of food. It is probable Frances brought them some of the pru-nut creams that she sold at her store. She visited them again on August 12, 1942. She visited the Inouye family twice; first on July 19, 1942 (with her husband, David Nemetzky), and again on July 29, 1942 (this time by herself). Prior to their removal, both families lived about one mile or so from Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams, the candy store that was owned and operated by Frances. It is likely that each family had frequented her store, and that they had known each other over the years.
The Inouye and Nakai families were relocated to Topaz, Utah, until the end of World War II. The Nakai family experienced bittersweet times during their forced incarceration. Mitsuru Nakai passed away at Topaz in April of 1943. His death was reported in The Topaz Times. Their son, Michikazu Nakai, married his wife at Topaz in August of 1943.
Following the end of World War II, both the Inouye and Nakai families returned to San Francisco. Shigetaro Inouye and his wife, Komaye, became citizens of the United States in 1954. Michie Nakai remarried in 1947, and also became a US citizen in 1954.
The National Archives Catalog has published records of the Tanforan Assembly Center, which is how I found that Frances had visited the Inoyue and Nakai families there in 1942. The records I found include visitors passes, visitors lists, and records of the families that were detained there. This was definitely something I did not expect to come across. I have found over the years that records sometimes find me, and this is definitely the case here. Below are the records I found on each of Frances' visits, as well as records of the families that she visited.