Ralph Lazo, American hero

July 18, 2019 12:31 PM

Ralph Lazo (November 3, 1924 – January 1, 1992) was the only known non-spouse, non-Japanese American who voluntarily relocated to a World War II Japanese American internment camp. (Wikipedia)
posted by Chrysostom (7 comments total)

Hey, I visited the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes last summer! Fort Scott, Kansas, near the Missouri border, is an unlikely spot for an unlikely museum celebrating unsung heroes.
posted by kozad at 12:56 PM on July 18, 2019

★
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:59 PM on July 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Great post - I had never heard of him. I want to hope there are more people with Ralph Lazo's ideals quietly doing good than people who see others as 'one of us' or 'other'. I am sad this bit still doesn't need additional explanation:

Here Ralph lived among the Japanese like one of them, his heritage never once questioned by government authorities because of his brown skin.

posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:08 PM on July 18, 2019 [7 favorites]

Another story of good I needed to read today. Thank you!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:30 PM on July 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I want to hope there are more people with Ralph Lazo's ideals quietly doing good...

For almost 20 years, Maine artist Robert Shetterly has been profiling such people with his series Americans Who Tell the Truth.
posted by LeLiLo at 4:06 PM on July 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"

.
posted by bryon at 5:09 PM on July 18, 2019

I'm now curious about non Japanese-American spouses who voluntarily interned. Or agitated from the outside.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:48 AM on July 19, 2019 [1 favorite]