Biography:
James Tsutomu Uyeda was born on September 26, 1918, in Loomis, California. His parents Tsunesuke and Kiyo were immigrants from Japan and operated a 32-acre fruit farm in nearby Rocklin. Tsunesuke died of a ruptured appendix in 1928, which left Uyeda and his two brothers and three sisters to run the farm with their mother. They operated the farm until they were forced to leave after the signing of Executive Order 9066. Uyeda married Jane Sakauye on April 11, 1942. They were sent to the Arboga Assembly Center on May 13, 1942 and then the Tule Lake incarceration camp on June 27, 1942. On September 23, 1943, they arrived in Heart Mountain as part of the segregation of “loyal” and “disloyal” incarcerees. They lived in apartment 22-22-BX. Uyeda answered No to Question 27 and Yes to Question 28 of the 1943 loyalty questionnaire. Many of the documents in Uyeda’s WRA file concern the ownership of the family farm, which was rented to a Chinese family. Uyeda failed to report for two draft induction physicals. He was arrested on November 22, 1944, and was in the trial of 20 draft resisters in July 1945. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in the McNeil Island, Washington, federal prison. After his release, Uyeda was pardoned by President Harry Truman on December 24, 1947. Uyeda returned to Rocklin after prison and ran the family farm until he retired in 1985. He had three children. James Tsutomu Uyeda died on August 10, 2010 in Rocklin.