What would you do if you had less than a w eek to pack one bag and leave your home\, not knowing if you would ever re turn? John Nakada was an 11-year-old boy when the US entered WWII. \; He was torn away from his life even though he was a US citizen. \; Joh n's daughter\, Yukiko Flennaugh (né\;e \;Laura Nakada)\, will sh are her father&rsquo\;s stories and experiences of being incarcerated in U S internment camps. \; Yukiko will share what Japanese Americans exper ienced and show short videos of her father telling stories. He discusses f riends refusing to talk to him\, living in a fairground horse stable\, the train ride to Heart Mountain\, Wyoming\, sneaking out of camp into a wate rmelon patch\, and what life was like after camp. \; \;
\nA brief history of Japanese Americans during WWII: All peop
le of Japanese descent living on the West Coast were incarcerated in inter
nment camps just months after America entered WWII. Over two thirds of the
120\,000 Japanese American men\, women and children were US citizens who
were imprisoned\, even though no crimes had been committed. The United Sta
tes government has since apologized\, and The Civil Liberties Act was sign
ed in 1988\, a bill to acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacua
tion\, relocation and internment of United States citizens.
John \;shared his incarc eration experience during WWII with purpose and compassion. He will be rem embered by his \;integrity\, loyalty\, honesty and teaching how \; balance in life (work\, play\, spirituality\, exercise) keeps you healthy and what matters most in life is love. \;
\nYukiko Flenn augh (né\;e Laura Nakada) is honored to be sharing her late father's story. Yukiko lives in Portland\, is a girl's high school basket ball coach\, volunteers at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon as a doc ent and leads the Racial Justice Ministry at Sunset Church. She is married to Damon and has adult children\, Nicole and Trejan Flennaugh.
\n2026 A Novel Idea Book Selection:
Supersonic \
;charts the rise of a boomtown city in the American West where ambiti
on outpaces memory. In the present day\, PTA president Sami Hasegawa-Stalw
orth is determined to rename her daughter&rsquo\;s elementary school after
her late grandmother&mdash\;a beloved music teacher and Japanese internme
nt survivor. What begins as a symbolic family gesture spirals into a kalei
doscopic\, multi-generational story of struggle&mdash\;for and against cha
nge\, and over who gets to define the future. \;
\;
Thr
ough interwoven lives&mdash\;an opioid-addicted 19th-century conman\, a di
sgraced Navy seaman building a jet that will fly faster than sound\, a sta
y-at-home dad turned weed entrepreneur\, and a family haunted by the ghost
s of progress&mdash\;Supersonic reveals how each era tries to rem
ake the same ground beneath its feet. At once intimate and panoramic\, the
story channels the restless energy that propels the West. \;
About the Author: \;
Thomas \;Kohnstamm \;was born and raised in Seattle. He still live
s in the same house he grew up in&mdash\;now with his wife and two childre
n. \;A freelance writer for over twenty years\, \;he&rsquo\;s
\;been a Spanish &\; Portuguese translator\, travel writer\, video &
\; animation producer and has covered subjects ranging from rainforest con
servation to quantum computing to backcountry skiing. \;Supersonic
\;is his third book. \;
Learn more about A Novel Idea \;
\nQuestions? Contact \;laurelh@deschuteslibrary.org \; \ ; \; \;
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