Student's work helps honor Japanese-Americans interned during World War II
STOCKTON - Kristi Agari got the idea last year after reading an article about a girl in Northern California who had organized a very belated high-school graduation ceremony for elderly Japanese-Americans in her community who had been sent to internment camps during World War II.
What if she could do the same thing in Stockton? What if she could find some of these people while they were still alive and give them a ceremony they'd been denied nearly 70 years ago? What if she could give them "a pat on the back" that was long overdue?
SPECIAL CEREMONY
Japanese-Americans interned during World War II will be recognized at the Stockton School For Adults' graduation ceremony on May 26. Those who never received their high-school diplomas because of the internment will have the opportunity to get them at the event. For more information, call School For Adults Principal Carol Hirota at (209) 933-7455.
She spoke to her grandmother, Masako. They started locating former internees in the Stockton area. She sent letters to about 20 of them. And so far, seven have said they plan to attend.
The ceremony will take place at the University of the Pacific on May 26 as part of the graduation for the Stockton School For Adults. Kristi, a 16-year-old junior at St. Mary's High School, says she will be relieved when it's over and all of her months of hard work have paid off.
"I just want to give them what they should have gotten," she said recently as she sat in the dining room of Masako's north Stockton home. "I told them that maybe this is something that you want to forget. But I still want to give them what they should have gotten."