The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation held a 100th birthday celebration on Oct. 4 for Takashi “Tak” Hoshizaki, the last surviving Heart Mountain draft resister, Korean War veteran, civil rights leader and HMWF board member.
He was born Oct. 3, 1925, in Los Angeles, the eldest of six children of Japanese immigrant parents, Keijiro and Name Hoshizaki. His father initially worked in the family import business before opening the Fujiya grocery store in East Hollywood, a neighborhood known as J-Flats. Hoshizaki grew up immersed in his community, participating in Boy Scouts, helping at the family store, and enjoying life with neighborhood friends.
During World War II, the family was forcibly relocated first to the Pomona Assembly Center and then to Heart Mountain in Wyoming, where Hoshizaki contributed to camp life by working in the mess hall and on irrigation projects. Despite these challenges, he completed his high school education, graduating with Heart Mountain’s first class.
In 1944, Hoshizaki made a conscientious stand against the draft, joining the Fair Play Committee and ultimately becoming one of 63 draft resisters tried for refusing induction. He served three years at McNeil Island Federal Prison, where he recorded his reflections daily and gained insight from fellow inmates.
After his release in 1946, Hoshizaki returned to Los Angeles, pursued higher education at Los Angeles City College and UCLA, earning a master’s degree and later a doctorate in plant biology, with service in the Korean War in between. In 1952, he married Barbara Joe, a Chinese American biology professor, and together they raised two children in Los Angeles until her passing in 2012.
To honor his extraordinary life, HMWF has launched a campaign to raise $100,000 in his name. Every gift celebrates not only his birthday, but also his lifelong fight for justice and memory. The campaign closes on Oct. 31.
A former Nisei incarceree who wishes to remain anonymous has joined with the Hoshizaki family and the HMWF Board to launch a $50,000 matching challenge. Together, they will double every gift, up to $50,000.
For more information: www.heartmountain.org/a-century-of-takashi-honoring-100-years-with-100000/