The Homma Family

Dr. and Mrs. Homma with their two oldest children at their home in Los Angeles prior to being confined at Amache.

Courtesy of Mitch Homma

In 1941, Dr. Kyushiro Homma and his wife, Mutsu (Wada) Homma lived in Sawtelle, Los Angeles with their three children, Kumiko, Hisao, and Kunio. Dr. Homma had graduated from the University of Southern California’s dental school and had a successful dental practice in Hollywood. The Hommas were also well integrated into the USC alumni and Baptist church communities. Despite this, they were still subjected to much of the anti-Asian and anti-Japanese racism of the time.

Like many other people of Japanese descent, the attack on Pearl Harbor caused a sense of panic. In an attempt to distance himself from his Japanese roots, Dr. Homma drained the koi pond at his home and burned personal papers and belongings from Japan.

Mrs. Homma and her three children outside their barrack at Amache.

Courtesy of Mitch Homma

In 1942, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, the Homma family was forcibly removed from their home and sent to live at the Santa Anita Assembly Center. After a few months at Santa Anita, they were put on a train and sent to the Granada Relocation Center in Granada, Colorado, also known as Amache. Dr. Homma served as a camp dentist until he died of a heart attack in August of 1944.

After Amache closed in 1945, the Hommas moved to Seattle, WA with the Wada family. The Hommas had lost nearly everything in the forced removal, including their house, the dental practice, and most of their possessions. They lived in the Seattle Japanese Baptist Church parsonage until Mrs. Homma was able to save enough money to buy a house.

Information provided by Mitch Homma, an Amache descendant. Mitch had nine family members spanning three generations incarcerated at Amache.

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