Robert Nakamoto, past JAVA President, and Korean War Veteran. Photo: Nakamoto Family.
Robert Nakamoto was born November 2, 1931, in Sacramento, California to George Nakamoto and Virginia Hirakawa Nakamoto and was the oldest of eight siblings. He and his family were interned at Camp Topaz in Utah during World War II. Known as Bob, he graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, California, where he was inducted into the Placer High School Hall of Fame. Following graduation, he served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Three of his younger brothers—Vic, George, and Donald—followed Bob's lead and served in the U.S. military. Bob went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from California State University at Sacramento.
After completing college, Bob moved east to take positions in personnel management and information technology at different federal and state government levels as well as the private sector. In time, he founded and was Chairman of Base Technologies Inc., an information technology company, headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Bob also had served as Director of Corporate Systems, MCI; Deputy Commissioner for Planning for the state of Texas; Director of Planning for Medicare and Medicaid Programs for the Federal Government; and Manager of Data Processing for the State of California and Sacramento County. He served on Presidential Task Force for both parties.
Bob Nakamoto was deeply involved in veterans and community activities nationwide supporting them with his time, executive expertise, and contributions. An exemplary President of JAVA, Bob received the Terry Shima Leadership Award for his visionary governance. After his presidency, Bob served as the Chair of JAVA’s Finance Committee and was involved with JAVA’s Speakers Bureau to publicize the Japanese American experience during WW II. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Japanese American Citizens League. Bob received various awards, including the Government of Japan Foreign Minister’s Award in recognition of his efforts to enhance Japan-US relations.
Robert Nakamoto is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
[Ed Note: Robert Nakamoto participated in the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project. His interview can be accessed here: http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.71666/.]
