ROBERT KASHIWAGI

SACRAMENTO — Robert Ichigi Kashiwagi, who was among the Sacramentans who appeared in Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “The War,” passed away peacefully on March 21 from renal failure at the age of 89.

Born in Hayward on Feb. 11, 1919, he graduated from Woodland High School in 1937 and later attended Sacramento City College as a business major.

In 1943, Kashiwagi volunteered for the U.S. Army from the Amache internment camp in Colorado. As a member of Company K of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, he served in ground combat in Italy in the Rome-Arno and northern Apennines and in military operations in France, including the rescue of the “Lost Battalion” of Texas.

He was awarded a Purple Heart with cluster and a Bronze Star for bravery, and was recently honored to share his World War II experience through his participation in “The War.” Burns interviewed veterans and those who were on the home front in four cities, including Sacramento.

In 1947, Kashiwagi was the first Japanese American to be hired by the Division of Highway Equipment Department. He retired as a parts manager in 1979 following 32 years of service with the California Department of Transportation.

Among his many civic and community activities, he was a life member of VFW Post 8985 and Disabled American Veterans #6; advancement chairman for Boy Scouts of America Troop 250; an elder at Parkview Presbyterian Church; a presenter at various schools and organizations on the Japanese American experience and constitutional issues; a resource leader at Jan Ken Po Gakko; a member of South Sacramento Shinwa Kai; a handicapper for Getsuyo (Monday) Golf Club; and a volunteer at the Sacramento City College Library.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lillian Miyeko Kashiwagi (nee Asoo); sons and daughters-in-law, Gordon and Chi Kashiwagi and Kerry and Sue Ann Kashiwagi; daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Terry Nishizaki; grandchildren, Jennifer, Tina, Alan, and Leah; brother, Tom; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Kay Kashiwagi, Roy Yokote, Sam Kanai, Rose Hironaka, Roy and Yoko Asoo, Christine and Stan Umeda, and Calvin and Ann Asoo; half-cousins, Jim and Yoshiko Kashiwagi and Kaoru Suto; and many nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Tatsu (Furusawa) Kashiwagi; sisters, Chiyo, Iseko June, and Kimiko; brother, George; half-brother, Joseph; and half-sisters, Suzu and Miwako.

“Bob will be greatly missed by his family, relatives, friends, and the community,” his family said in a statement.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkview Presbyterian Church General Fund. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 30, at 2 p.m. at Parkview Presbyterian Church, 727 T St., Sacramento, CA 95814.

In an interview last year with the Sacramento Bee, Kashiwagi recalled the internment: “I couldn’t help but feel bitterness. I was a bona fide American citizen already voting. Everybody lost their homes. Jobs were gone. I was 23 at that time.”

Drafted in 1941, he failed the physical because he had a lung condition. He was hospitalized in a sanitarium in Colfax, but left to join his family when they were interned. At Amache, “I remained in bed for one year ... with no medication and no doctors.”

He said the Army gave him a choice: “I could volunteer into a Japanese American unit, but I thought that was unfair — it was a suicide unit. It was either take that option or declare yourself disloyal and refuse to go.”

He joined the 442nd and was wounded three times, with one injury requiring six months of hospitalization.

“I was bitter from the day I served,” he said. “It was a terrible experience. Soaking wet, seven days a week, sleeping in my own wet, dirty underwear. All I could do was curse it every day ... I had no choice but to be there.”

But after the war, he eventually realized something: “Being bitter was just hurting myself ... I decided to turn my life around and make the best of it.”

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