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Moments in History
Father Flanagan helps Japanese Americans Rebuild Their Lives During WWII
When Father Flanagan opened his first Home for Boys in 1917, he welcomed kids of every race, religion, nationality and circumstance. But his efforts to be inclusive and compassionate in his care of children went far beyond creating a place where they could grow and thrive. Father Flanagan also recognized and rejected the laws and customs that enshrined and reinforced institutional racism. He passionately attacked those unfair laws and practices, shining a spotlight on prejudice and injustice, and using Boys Town as a model for the incredible possibilities that existed when people of all backgrounds lived, worked and played side by side in mutual respect and equality.
Father Flanagan’s deep beliefs were on full display during WWII when Japanese Americans were vilified and unjustly placed into internment camps. Throughout the war, Father Flanagan tirelessly advocated for hundreds of Japanese Americans, offering them refuge, employment opportunities and a chance to rebuild their lives.
The following three stories are from “Father Flanagan’s More Perfect Union: Pushing the Frontiers of Racial and Religious Inclusion at Boys Town (Did you know Boys Town has been named one of the first intentionally integrated communities in America? | Boys Town)” by Dr. Heather Fryer. They demonstrate Father Flanagan’s courageous and passionate commitment to inclusion, justice and equality during a time in history when they drastically differed from accepted social norms of the era.
Tat Wong
In 1921, Boys Town welcomed its first Asian American youth, Tat Wong, during a time of heightened anti-Asian sentiment. His father brought him to Boys Town due to the challenges of being a single parent, while his mother remained in China because of strict immigration laws. Initially, Tat underwent some adjustment challenges, but he quickly made friends and felt just as happy as any other boy. His father visited often, and Tat expressed a desire to return to China one day. Father Flanagan warmly welcomed Tat to Boys Town, stood firmly against racial discrimination of any kind during his time here and provided support and understanding to help Tat navigate the difficult societal landscape.
Kiyoshi Patrick Okura
During World War II, Father Flanagan welcomed Patrick Okura, a talented Japanese American mental health professional, to Boys Town to lead its counseling programs. Despite the risk of how this would be perceived by others outside of Boys Town, Father Flanagan’s commitment to racial justice led him to support Okura, who had been unjustly incarcerated in an internment camp. Okura, who had previously made significant contributions in the Los Angeles city government, played a key role at Boys Town for seventeen years, designing and delivering psychological services. Father Flanagan’s advocacy for Okura and his wife demonstrated his firm stance against racial discrimination, ensuring that they were not only welcomed but integral to the Boys Town community.
From Internment Camps to Boys Town
After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, the U.S. government incarcerated nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps. Father Flanagan, opposing this unjust treatment, worked with Father Hugh Lavery to secure the release of several Japanese Americans to live and work at Boys Town. Here, they were provided freedom and support, and helped by replacing staff who had joined the armed forces. The Japanese Americans described feeling immediately at home due to Father Flanagan’s loving welcome. By the end of 1943, ten Japanese Americans were living at Boys Town, growing to 43 by the war’s end, with nearly 300 more passing through for short stays. Father Flanagan’s support ranged from writing military service recommendations to connecting individuals with jobs and housing. Despite criticism from the Omaha community, Father Flanagan stood firm, admonishing, “We must not permit ourselves to be smeared with the same moral filth we are criticizing in our enemies.” His commitment to justice extended beyond the war, forming support networks with local civil rights organizations and ensuring Japanese Americans were integrated and supported at Boys Town.
Japanese Hall at the Legacy of the Plains Museum
The grand opening of Japanese Hall on the campus of the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering, NE took place on June 8, 2024. Attendees included the governor, the chancellor of the Nebraska university system, state officials and the Japanese Consul General from Chicago. During a banquet with 400 guests, the museum’s founder discussed Father Flanagan’s efforts to help Japanese Americans during WWII. Father Flanagan and Boys Town were prominently featured in the exhibits, with collateral materials highlighting their work distributed to attendees. Learn more about the Japanese Hall.
When Pearl Harbor was attacked at that time, the world was at war. So there's a great fear across the United States and Japanese Americans who were living in United States. Many of 'em for many generations were considered enemies at that point. Programs were begun across the United States to, uh, in-car rate. These people put 'em into camps.
When we were put into the camp, my mother is half Irish. And at that time when you were mixed, even your own family, like my grandmother, that was still alive, she didn't accept me. So in the camp we didn't fit in and I was bullied a lot. And I would go every day back to my mom and say, can't we move? Can't we move? Father Flanagan believed in helping people 'cause he himself was an immigrant to the United States, so he knew what it was like to be discriminated against when you come to a new country.
So when he heard about Japanese Americans having the same thing happen to them, he wanted to reach out and help them. My mother decided to write a letter and my dad signed the letter and it came to Father Flanagan and he appealed to the government and we were eight let out. After four months, father Flanagan said, you are more welcome to come here. So Mr. Takahashi and his wife and their three children came to live in the village of Boys Town, one of them being a young lady named Winkie, their eldest daughter.
So she came here when she's about six years old and they stayed for three years. And she has great memories of living here at Boys Town, knowing Father Flanagan and living on the Boys Town farm and just the special life they had here in the village of Boys Town.
Father Flanagan was a very gentle person. That's the way I would describe him. He always took every instance, no matter what it was, and it was turned into a positive experience. And then over the war years, he brought close to 200 people eventually out of the camps. Some came to live here at Boystown and worked on the grounds, worked with the children, worked in the farms and different buildings on campus and many others.
He helped to go on different jobs across the United States 'cause he felt the internment of the Japanese was wrong. I'm very thankful that we ended up here because I would never have made it out of that camp. That camp was very destructive. They had riots there. We were thrown out of the mess hall. Things happened there that as a child I watched and I saw. And, um, those things are embedded in your memory forever. Uh, here in Boystown, we were happy all the time.
It was a magical place. We learned new things. There's so many things that have happened in my life that were tremendous adversities to overcome
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Celebrating a
Century of Diversity
From its inception in 1917, Boys Town welcomed every child regardless of race, religion or creed. Today, we remain committed to do the same.