Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda

LAWRENCE KIYOSHI SHINODA
Family # 20983
Camp: Manzanar, CA
Address: 29-7-4

Written by Grace Shinoda Nakamura, Larry’s sister.

My father, Kiyoshi Shinoda, came to the USA from Japan when he was 12, and my mother, Hide Wata­nabe, was one. Our father died when I was three and my sister Grace was six.

We heard of Pearl Harbor on the car radio as we were returning home from church on December 7, 1941. Executive Order 9066 forced all persons of Japa­nese ancestry, even US citizens, from the West Coast. My sister was 15 and I was 12. We had one week to get ready. We could only take what we could carry. What would you take? We each crammed a duffel bag with necessities. I added a picture of our dog Spotty, a small tool box I received for Christmas, and because I loved to draw cars and hot-rods, I brought my notebooks and pencils. On May 16, 1942 a neighbor drove us early in the morning to LA Union Station.

It looked spooky with all the shades drawn on the train windows and many soldiers with guns stand­ing around us. No foods or drinks were provided. We arrived at Manzanar at dusk. We were issued a muslin bag and instructed to fill it with straw for our mattress. I told my sister, “I feel like the baby Jesus – 'asleep on the hay.’” Our room had only army beds for Grandma Watanabe, Uncle Tom Watanabe, M.D. (camp doctor); two aunts, and us. The cold wind blew in dust through all the cracks.

I designed two reclining-back chairs with armrests for Mom and Grandma. The chairs were made from recycled wooden crates used to box toilets. They became a camp “sensation” with many spectators who came to see and sit.

My love of fishing dimmed the danger of MP gunfire when I crawled under the barbed wire to fish. Using rocks and building a dam system in the streams, I could catch trout with my bare hands.

My sister Grace also had a risky encounter in De­cember 1942, when she ran down to witness a big protest caused by government employees stealing sugar and food meant for the internees. The MP fired into the defenseless crowd and killed Jimmy Ito, Grace’s classmate, standing only a few feet away from her.

In spring 1944 Mom, Grace, and I left Manzanar for Grand Junction, CO to join the family on a farm. We went to a local school. There was a pond on the farm which froze over. What fun we had on borrowed ice skates until a bull “charged us” and we escaped by climbing into the corn crib!

We returned to California in 1945. I graduated from Eagle Rock High School, went to Pasadena City College, and Art Center College of Design. I served in the Air National Guard in the Korean War. After service, I returned to study transportation design at Art Center College. Ford Motor Company hired me to go to Detroit as a car designer-stylist. In my career in transpor­tation design, I have designed everything from two-wheelers to 18-wheelers. I have designed for every major transportation company in the United States and the world, but I am best recognized for my Corvette design, the Boss Mustang, and winning Indy 500 cars. I drew the original designs for the National Corvette Mu­seum in Bowling Green, KY where Corvettes are produced. At the museum you can look in the window of an automobile showroom featuring my classic Corvettes with my life-size statue presiding over all. My original paintings and drawings featuring my designs are on display throughout the museum as well.

Larry died November 1997. He was installed in the first Hall of Fame in the National Corvette Museum posthumously in September 1998.

Wind and Dust
This wind and dust I have to bear
How hard it blows I do not care.
But when the wind begins to blow –­
My morale is pretty low.
I know that I can see it through
Because others have to bear it too.
So I will bear it with the rest
And hope the outcome is the best.
– George Nishimura, age 16 (Manzanar, 1943)

Read this to learn more about the demographics of each of the ten facilities administered by the War Relocation Authority.

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