The Patriot
Born in an internment camp, he became a decorated Army colonel. Now Ed Wakayama, LA’67, has a passionate message for America: LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.

By Karen Feldscher

In his family’s small house in Fukuoka, Japan, the young boy could hear his father’s hushed conversations with visiting strangers. They would talk about camps.

After the visitors left, the boy would ask his parents: What camps were those? Boy Scout camps? Summer camps?

His mother wouldn’t discuss it. “It’s all in the past,” she’d say. His father stayed silent, too. But as the boy got older, his father told him everything.

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