Tsuye Nozawa, a 64-year-old housewife from Gardena, testified before the Commission about the devastating loss of her first child at Manzanar and the lasting health and financial struggles that followed. Her story captured the intimate toll of incarceration on mothers, families, and future generations.

• Family & Business: She and her husband borrowed money in 1940 to open a cleaning shop in Los Angeles. They lived in the back of the store, but were forced to abandon it and all their possessions when sent to camp.

• Life at Manzanar: Shared a single small room partitioned by sheets; slept on mattresses stuffed with straw sacks; endured dust storms and poor food. She was pregnant during this time and often ill.

• Medical Neglect: In January 1943, while in labor, she was denied care from Japanese American doctors by camp authorities. A young, inexperienced doctor administered gas inappropriately, leading to days of agony.

• Loss of Her Baby: After three days of suffering and neglect, her baby boy, whom they named Toshio, was stillborn. She described wishing she had died as well. Nurses gave little care; her family begged for a cesarean that was refused.

• Lingering Grief: She and her husband still visit Toshio’s grave at Evergreen Cemetery and include him in their daily prayers. Though later blessed with two children, she endured miscarriages and lifelong health issues.

• Financial Hardship: Her health prevented steady work; repeated hospitalizations left the family financially strained. Her husband, despite being elderly and ill, continued working as a gardener.

• Appeal to the Commission: Declared that “all the money in the world cannot pay for the life of my baby,” but asked the government for $100,000 as a measure of justice.