April 10, 2008

U. of Oregon Awards Honorary Degrees to Japanese Americans Who Were Expelled in 1942

For Students Expelled in 1942, a Ceremony to Help Heal 1 Enlarge Image
close For Students Expelled in 1942, a Ceremony to Help Heal 1

By Peter Monaghan

Eugene, Ore.

When Midori Funatake came here to the University of Oregon in 1940, she never suspected that she would not get her degree until Sunday, April 6, 2008. She had set out from home, on the outskirts of Portland, 100 miles to the north, with a student's traditional motivation: "It was far enough away from home that I could feel independent," recalls Mrs. Midori Komoto, as she later became.

Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, during her second year. Fellow

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