Nelly Aiko Sasuga (Poston 2-7-B) was born May 21, 1924 in Los Angeles, California to Japanese immigrant parents, Shozo and Shima Sasuga. Her sister, Hatsuko was born in Japan, and her older brother, John had been born in the U.S. Her father was an artist, who was working at a drug store in the 1930s.
The Sasuga family was forcibly evacuated from Los Angeles and transported to their new desert living quarters Poston, Arizona. They arrived on May 29, 1942 and assigned housing at block 2-7-B. Her father was a member of the Red Cross, the only success organization at Poston, and was selected to be on the Issei Advisory Board's Food Committee.
Her brother, John Sasuga left Poston to attend the University of Texas in Austin on January 24, 1943.
Nelly Sasuga volunteered entered in the U.S. Women's Army Corps on October 28, 1944 at Phoenix. She was the sixth woman from Poston to join, and proudly served as a sergeant in the United States Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Her parents departed from Poston in August of 1945 and returned to Los Angeles.
Nelly married John Shimazu and they raised five children. Nelly Shimazu died on September 2, 2009 at the age of 85 years in Gardena, California. She was preceded in death by her father, Shozo (1973); mother, Shima (1978); and brother Yasuo John Sasuga (1997).
She is survived by husband, John Shimazu; daughters, Evelyn (Eric) Yee, Helen (Cliff) Jeng, and Irene Robinson and Susan Shimazu; and son, Steven (Gayle) Shimazu.
Source: http://rafu.com/news/nelly-aiko-shimazu/
