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| Capt. Miki N. Iwata |
Miki N. Iwata was born on March 18, 1941 in Montebello, California, the third child of Shigezo and Sonoko Flora (Uyematsu) Iwata. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Shigezo was picked up by the FBI and imprisoned with no charges. Sonoko and her children, Masahiro, Misao and Miki were evacuated from Thermal, California. They arrived at the Poston, Arizona (block 42-7-D) internment camp on June 19, 1942. Shigezo was paroled from the Department of Justice detention camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico and joined his family at Poston on July 14, 1943. Michi was born in 1944. The Iwata family left Poston on August 21, 1945 and went to New York.
Miki grew up in Seabrook, New Jersey and graduated in 1959 from Bridgeton High School. She continued her education and graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. degree in nursing, and later became a certified nurse practitioner.
In 1966, Miki enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam on the USS Sanctuary and USS Yosemite. She was among the first women to serve on a Navy ship, and was assigned to many stations throughout the world. After 29 years of service, she retired as a Captain, US Navy, Naval Nurse Corp. Miki had received with numerous awards and citations.
Following her retirement, Miki lived in Orland, Florida and volunteered to visit the sick, mentored children after school, and provided assistance to the homeless. She served as a national officer in the Navy Nurse Corp Association, and was active with the YMCA and Tai Chi classes. She was also an active member of the Conway United Methodist Church, served in the church choir and Church Council, and was involved with establishing the Stephens Ministry for people in crisis.
Miki passed away on June 12, 2011. She was preceded in death by her parents, Shigezo (1986) and Sonoko Flora (Uyematsu) Iwata (2004).
She is survived by brother Masahiro (Carolyn) Iwata; and sisters Misao (Roger) Walck, Michi (Thomas) Muchisky, and Misono (Ronald) Miller.
Source:
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary-print.aspx?n=Miki-Iwata&lc=2236&pid=152008421&mid=4711268
