San Francisco’s Building 640 To Honor Japanese American Linguists from World War II

There’s an abandoned warehouse in Presidio National Park but soon, Building 640 will be the site of a new learning center, revealing its secret history as a Military Intelligence Service Language School. In 1941, the military housed and trained 60 linguists in preparation for war against Japan, including 58 Japanese Americans. Now, the location will be dedicated to “telling the story of Japanese Americans like Sakamoto, his story of patriotism, and the pain of prejudice.”

These plans remind me of my recent trip to Manzanar National Historic Site, where over 100,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent were forced to relocate during the war. The high school auditorium had been transformed into an Interpretive Center, complete with interactive exhibits to portray the history and hardships that the internees faced. While I’m familiar with the history of America’s war relocation camps and my own family’s experience, I was still surprised to read the Center’s guestbook, where visitors expressed their shock and dismay that such a thing could have occurred here in the States. I realized that the role of Japanese Americans in World War II is a story that still needs to be told, and I hope the Building 640 learning center will continue to spread awareness to all generations.