Sowing Good, Reaping Good
By Katie Mittelstadt
Eddie Toshio Owada photographed in uniform while serving as a Technician Fourth Grade in the Military Intelligence Unit during the Second World War. [1]
Eddie Owada pictured (on the left) with a comrade during his service in World War II.[12]
Image of Tule Lake Segregation Center in 1946. [7]
Eddie Toshio Owada
December 22, 1925 - March 4, 2020
The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 changed everything. The devastating, surprise attack by Japan marked the end of the isolationist ideals of many citizens of the United States and ushered in a period of domestic unity across America during the Second World War. It also quickly created a hostile environment for Japanese immigrants and Japanese-American citizens living in the U.S.[2] One of the impacted Japanese Americans, Eddie Toshio Owada, was the son of two Japanese immigrants. He was also known as a second-generation immigrant or Nisei. The son of an arranged marriage between a Japanese immigrant named Tsuneosuki (Frank) Owada and a California-born, Japan-raised Japanese American named Kikue Goda, Eddie was born on December 22, 1925 in Tacoma, Washington.[3] Until his parents’ separation in 1930 at the age of 5, Eddie, his parents, and his two younger brothers Masayuki (Jhone) Owada and Saburo (Sam) Owada, lived a simple life above their father’s photography studio in an integrated neighborhood in Tacoma. After his parents’ separation, Eddie’s life was anything but simple. He, along with his two younger brothers, moved to Vashon Island, Washington in 1931 to help his father take care of a newly leased farm. It was 10 years after moving to Vashon Island that Eddie and his family heard the shocking news that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Just two months later, on February 7, 1942, Eddie’s father was abducted by the FBI and taken to a Japanese internment camp in Missoula, Montana, leaving 16-year-old Eddie as head of the household.[4]
The stress of keeping his father’s farm afloat while working multiple other jobs to support his two younger brothers and himself during his father’s absence meant that Eddie put his studies aside. Things quickly escalated for Eddie and his brothers after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, allowing for the forcible removal and relocation of Japanese Americans from West Coast states to “Assembly Centers.”[5]
After being forcibly loaded into the back of a truck by military personnel in May 1942, Eddie and his brothers, along with countless other terrified and confused Japanese Americans, were sent to the Pinedale Assembly Center located in Pinedale, California. In July 1942, the Owada brothers were relocated to Tule Lake Segregation Center located in Newell, California, where they were eventually reunited with their father. While at Tule Lake, Eddie worked at the hospital kitchen part-time and was able to pick up his academic studies again. However, Eddie would argue that the “best” thing that came out of his time at Tule Lake was his love and passion for weightlifting. At the ripe age of 17, Eddie heard the clanking of weightlifting barbells coming from the camp’s recreation center. With the help of U.S. Weightlifting Olympian Emerick Ishikawa, who had also been part of the mass removal of Japanese Americans to the camp, Eddie won his first impromptu weightlifting contest and even started a weightlifting club at the Tule Lake Segregation Center. He fondly remembers this time in his life, displaying his relentlessly positive attitude. Eddie’s enthusiasm for weightlifting was a steady force throughout his life. [6]
Ultimately, Eddie and his family were transferred to the Minidoka Internment Camp in Minidoka, Idaho where Eddie had a job with the camp’s fire department, focusing on their engineering needs. At Minidoka, Eddie received his notice for a physical exam in the summer of 1944. In keeping with his enthusiastic and optimistic character, Eddie was keen to support America in its war efforts and saw military service as his patriotic duty. He registered for military service on December 22, 1943 and was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. [8] After completing basic training in Camp Hood, Texas he and his fellow privates were told that they would be embarking to Europe. However, one week before they were scheduled to leave, Eddie and another man in his Battalion were instead chosen to be sent to a G-2 (intelligence division of the military) language school in Minnesota to relearn Japanese. Although disappointed, Eddie yet again made the best of his situation. His official rank during World War II (WWII) was Technician Fourth Grade for the Military Intelligence Service Unit of the U.S. Army. During WWII this position served as a linguist, translator, and interrogator in the Pacific Theater for the U.S. military.[9] Because Eddie’s father instilled in Eddie and his brothers that they were Americans first, he was hesitant to relearn Japanese and serve in this capacity. To keep his Americanized way of life, Eddie courageously asked his Officer, Major Iso, if he could opt out of learning Japanese. To Eddie’s surprise, the Major respected his wishes and instead sent Eddie to work in the battalion rations division’s butcher shop. Here, Eddie learned not only how to properly cut meat but eventually became in charge of the rations for the School Battalion. When the School Battalion moved from Minnesota to Monterey, California, Eddie was in charge of moving and initiating the operations in its new location.[10] Following his service for the battalion rations division, Eddie was honorably discharged from the U.S. military in 1946.[11]
After his steadfast and honorable loyalty and service to the U.S. Military, Eddie continued to serve the American people for over 22 years as a Forestry Technician for the U.S. Forest Service. During this time he worked throughout the states of Montana and Colorado, also serving as ski patrol and avalanche control for some of Colorado’s most well-known ski resorts including Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, and Breckenridge. Eddie married his wife Irlene Anne Owada (nee Zimmerman) in 1974 and the couple eventually settled in Denver, Colorado where Eddie was able to rediscover his passion for weightlifting.[13] He worked as a weight room attendant and fitness instructor for 23 years at Lafayettes’s Bob L. Burger Recreation Center in Lafayette, Colorado until his reluctant retirement at age 89. Those who knew him at the recreation center described him as a “positive influence,” “a fixture of the rec center,” “a man who lives his passion” of helping others, and a man with a “zest for life that he gave out so freely.” Not only was Eddie the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center’s most treasured employee by both colleagues and members, he was an avid participant in bodybuilding and weightlifting competitions, winning five world championship gold medals and 13 national gold medals. After his retirement at age 89 Eddie enjoyed his free time landscaping his yard, gardening, and writing. However, he never fully gave up weightlifting, as he continued to compete occasionally throughout the last years of his life. [14]
After a long, active, and fulfilling life, Eddie Toshio Owada sadly passed away on March 4, 2020 in Colorado at the age of 94 and was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Before his passing in 2020 Eddie completed an oral history interview with Densho, an organization that documents the experiences of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during WWII. Eddie, staying true to his contagiously positive and mindful attitude, ended the interview with reflective and wise advice stating “sow good, and you will reap good” and “always keep your chin up, look at the bright side.” [15] These words of advice, along with his determination, selflessness, and deep compassion, are crucial reminders of how staying optimistic even throughout life’s toughest challenges can make an impact on not only yourself but those around you.
Footnotes ↓
[1] The Denver Post, “Veterans Tell Their Stories,” The Denver Post, November 7, 2008, https://www.denverpost.com/2008/11/07/veterans-tell-their-stories/.
[2] John J. Tierney Jr., “The Impact of Pearl Harbor on America | the Institute of World Politics,” The Institute of World Politics, December 7, 2015, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.iwp.edu/articles/2015/12/07/the-impact-of-pearl-harbor-on-america/.
[3] Ancestry , “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Eddie T Owada,” Ancestry, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2238/records/12790774?tid=&pid=&queryId=79fbe075-9420-401a-a913-846efeaa260a&_phsrc=kvt5&_phstart=successSource.
[4] “Eddie Owada | Densho Digital Repository,” Densho Digital Repository, 2025, https://ddr.densho.org/narrators/344/.
[5] Mailing Address: P. O. Box 1240 Tulelake and CA 96134 Phone:260 0537 or call667 8113 for the Lava Beds National Monument Visitor Center Contact Us, “Tule Lake Segregation Center Pamphlet - Tule Lake National Monument (U.S. National Park Service),” www.nps.gov, n.d., accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/tule/planyourvisit/tule-lake-segregation-center-pamphlet.htm.
[6] “Eddie Owada | Densho Digital Repository,” Densho Digital Repository, 2025, https://ddr.densho.org/narrators/344/.
[7] “Tule Lake Segregation Center Pamphlet - Tule Lake National Monument (U.S. National Park Service),” www.nps.gov, n.d., accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/tule/planyourvisit/tule-lake-segregation-center-pamphlet.htm.
[8] The Denver Post, “Veterans Tell Their Stories,” The Denver Post, November 7, 2008, https://www.denverpost.com/2008/11/07/veterans-tell-their-stories/.
[9] Kim Guise, “Military Intelligence Service (MIS): Using Their Words,” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, September 30, 2020, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/military-intelligence-service-translators-interpreters.
[10] “Eddie Owada | Densho Digital Repository,” Densho Digital Repository, 2025, https://ddr.densho.org/narrators/344/.
[11] The Denver Post, “Veterans Tell Their Stories,” The Denver Post, November 7, 2008, https://www.denverpost.com/2008/11/07/veterans-tell-their-stories/.
[12] “‘Eddie Owada, Matsu’ | DPLA,” Dp.la, 2025, accessed August 15, 2025, https://dp.la/item/eeec9ee7458093569b5f714cb6341601.
[13] “Eddie Toshio Owada ,” Findagrave.com, 2020, accessed August 15, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210774470/eddie-toshio-owada.
[14] Whitney Bryen, “Weightlifter, Lafayette Rec Teacher Retires at 89,” Colorado Hometown Weekly, April 27, 2015, https://www.coloradohometownweekly.com/2015/04/27/weightlifter-lafayette-rec-teacher-retires-at-89/.
[15] “Eddie Owada | Densho Digital Repository,” Densho Digital Repository, 2025, https://ddr.densho.org/narrators/344/.
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