Mollie Masayo Uyeji (Poston
322-9-C) was born on January 19, 1927 in San Diego to Japanese immigrant
parents, Jirosaku, a fisherman, and Ishi (Madokoro) Uyeji from
Shimosato-mura, Wakayama-ken, Japan.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the
signing of Executive order 9066, Mollie, her parents, sister Katherine, and
brother Katsuma Nagotsugu were forcibly evacuated from their home near National
City to the Santa Anita Assembly Center.
After a few months, they were transported by train to the Colorado River
Indian Reservation in western Arizona and arrived at the Poston
concentration camp 3 on August 28, 1942.
They were assigned to block 322-9-C.
Her sister, Katherine was a Nurses' Aid at
the Poston General Hospital located at camp 1.
She left Poston, Arizona to
resettle in Detroit, Michigan on May 30, 1944.
Her
brother, Katsuma went on seasonal leave on June 9, 1944 to Twin Falls, Idaho,
and later that year, enlisted in the Army and on December 11, 1944, he reported
to Fort Douglas, Utah.
Mollie attended high school at camp
3. She was employed in the office of the
Agriculture Department. She was a member
of the Girls League, and graduated from Parker Valley High School early in
February 1945. Mollie left Poston, Arizona on June 5, 1945 and went to Chicago.
Her brother Hiizu was hospitalized
at Patton General Hospital and did not join the family at Poston until November
20, 1944. Hiizu and his parents left
Poston, Arizona on September 13, 1945 and returned to National City. Hiizu filed
a declaration of intent to naturalize with the San Diego County court on
January 10, 1949.
Mollie returned to San Diego and in 1947, married
San Diegan Henry "Hank" Shigeharu Hashiguchi (Poston
322-5-C), whom she met at Poston camp 3.
They
raised their children, Donna and Richard in North Park and Clairemont, while
her husband, Hank worked for Solar Turbines as a mechanical engineer. Mollie attended business college and was employed
for 26 years as an Executive Secretary for General Dynamics.
Mollie was an avid Padres and Chargers fan,
loved figure skating, participated in league bowling, and gambled at the casino. Despite
a debilitating stroke at age 59, she stayed active and was a member of the J.A.C.L.
Mollie Uyeji Hashiguchi, a native of San
Diego, died on October 29, 2006 of complications of surgery at the age of 79
years. She was preceded in death by her
father, Jirosaku (1946); mother, Ishi Uyeji (1885).
She is survived by her husband of 59
years, Henry; daughter, Donna (Don)
West, of Boulder, Colorado; son, Richard; granddaughter, Jennifer Mariko West;
brothers, Hiizu and Katsuma Uyeji; and sister, Kathy Brock.
Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune, November 2, 2006
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/29/la-mesa-man-survived-war-wounds-not-runaway-car/
