Children of the camps.

The Topaz concentration camp opened on Sept. 11, 1942, and reached a population of just over 8,000 people. Making it one of the larger communities in the state of Utah. Nearly half the population of the camp were children. Naturally these children, as much as anyone else, suffered from depression.

Fred Hoshiyama was concerned about the physical, mental, and spiritual well being of the children. Because of his previous experience at the YMCA, he was asked to help organize activities for the them. Among other things these activities included art, music, sports, and games.

Above: Children in the camps pledging allegiance to a flag and government that had put them in prison for no crime.

Fred's experiences in the camp, and working with the children there, would be one of the events that would shape his entire career.  He found that children in the inner cities of America, while not fenced in with barbed wire, faced much of the same depression, and confinement as those in the camps. His programs have helped tens of thousands.

Above: All Americans of Japanese descent on the west coast, including the children, were given tags with numbers to identify them.

note: The above photo's are not specific to Topaz; and were taken at several different camps throughout the war.