Photo credits: Mrs. Aiko Uyeoka
Hiroshi
"Hiro" Isogawa died on December 14, 2015. He was born to Joichi
and Kiyoko Isogawa on November 23, 1925, near Pinedale, California. He was the fourth of nine children and his siblings were named; Frank, Chrissie, Anne, Ben, Mickey, Sanumi, George and Tom.
Hiro attended Pinedale Elementary, until his parents purchased a farm in the Fig Garden area in Fresno, California and farmer. Hiro was attending the Central Union High School until the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hiro was was evacuated with his family and other local people of Japanese ancestry to the Fresno (Fairgrounds) Assembly Center in the early summer of 1942. They were sent under military guard on a train to the Jerome, Arkansas concentration camp. After graduating from Denson High School in Arkansas, Hiro volunteered for the U.S. Army, while behind barbed wire.
Hiro Isogawa was inducted into the Army on April 4, 1944 at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He had basic
training at Camp Blanding, Florida, and completed advanced training at Camp Shelby,
Mississippi. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, but was held
back due to being "too young to go overseas". Hiro served as acting Squad Leader
in Basic Training, and was used as a 'cadre' to train replacements for the 442nd
Regimental Combat Team. His unit
was renamed the 171st Infantry, Battalion A, with whom he stayed until the unit
was disbanded in March 1945. He was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for
three months, and then deployed overseas when he came of age in June, and sent to Nuremburg, Germany with varied assignments. Later, he was deployed to northern Germany at Munchen, Gladbeck, and Antwerp, then to Mons,
Belgium with the 390th Military Police Unit and guarded the supplies
for Europe. He was discharged from the Army in June, 1946. Since three of his brothers were still serving in the military, Hiro had to remain on the family farm. His sister Mickey, was a beautician, and worked with Harriet Watanabe, a "pretty girl" from Maui, Hawaii.
She really caught Hiro’s "eye", and after dating about a year, they were
married on June 30, 1952 in Reno, Nevada. He was allowed to leave the farm,
and the couple settled in Fresno. Hiro and Harriett had two children, Leilani
and Randall.
In
1953, the VFW Post 8499 for Nisei veterans was formed with Hiro as a charter
member. He served as Commander from 1993 -1995. Hiro became involved with the Fresno Veterans
Day Parade in 1993 . In early 1995,
Chuck Monges approached him to become a docent for the Legion of Valor Museum in downtown Fresno.
Hiro volunteered on Wednesdays, and because of this many hours of dedicated
service to the museum, he was promoted to staff. Hiro became one of the museum’s
most valued volunteers. As a member of the 442nd RCT, Hiro was a
recipient of the nisei Congressional Gold Medal and proudly attended the
ceremonies in Washington D.C. in 2011.
Hiro was a manager of the
Star Super Market #2 for 19 year and the Mayfair Market until he retired. After retiring, he helped his relatives at the Aki Hardware Company in west Fresno. Hiro was very active with the Nikkei Center for Senior
Citizens, and the United Japanese Christian Church, as
trustee for many years.
