Sawato John Hatakeda (Poston 316-2-A)
was born to Japanese immigrants, Sawajiro and Yayeno (Inoda) Hatakeda. During World War II, the family was relocated
from Ivanhoe, California out to the Arizona desert to a place that became known
as the Poston, Arizona concentration camp 3.
John, his parents, and brothers, Joe Masashi, Roy Sawajiro Hatakeda were
assigned to lived at apartment 316-2-A. Sawato left Poston early in February
1943 to attend college in Grinnell, Iowa. One week after he left, his brother, Joe
Masashi, 15, died from a viral infection. In the summer of 1945, Mr. & Mrs.
Hatakeda and brother Roy, left Poston and went to Logandale, Nevada.
Sawato John Hatakeda, a farmer in Yettem,
California, and died on January 16, 2014 at the age of 91.
