Natalie Sakuma, granddaughter of 442nd veteran, Satoru Sakuma, will be the keynote speaker at the Commemoration of the 82nd Anniversary of the forced removal of islanders of Japanese descent, which will be held on March 30, 2024 at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. Satoru Sakuma was just 16 years old in 1942, when he and his family were part of the first group of West Coast Japanese Americans to be incarcerated in Manzanar, CA. Satoru was one of four Sakuma brothers who subsequently served in the United States military–in his case, the 442nd, the most decorated battalion in U.S. history. He passed away on May 17, 2022.
In keeping with this year’s theme, “Teach the Children,” Natalie hopes to encourage a new generation to apply the lessons learned from the Japanese internment. “My message will be this generation has a great opportunity to be better than the one before it,” she said. “That this is not just a story of sadness and wrongs, but a story of peace, hope and love.” To that end, she has been teaching her Skagit Valley 4th and 5th graders the story behind the origami cranes that are ceremoniously hung on the Memorial Wall at the end of each year’s commemoration. The story was recently covered in an article in the Skagit Valley Herald.
The public is invited to hear Natalie at the 82nd Commemoration. The program begins at 11 a.m. on March 30th at the Exclusion Memorial.
