Robert Nakamoto, past JAVA President and Korean War Veteran. Photo: Nakamoto Family.
Bob Nakamoto was born November 2, 1931, in Sacramento, California to George Nakamoto and Virginia Hirakawa and was the oldest of eight siblings. He and his family were interned at Camp Topaz in Utah during World War II. He graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, California. Bob served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and earned 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. Bob was Chairman of Amour, LLC, and Chairman of InterAmerica Global, both involved in international exports. Prior to that, he was Chairman and principal owner of Base Technologies Inc., an Information Technology company, headquartered in McLean, Virginia. He also had served as Director of Corporate System, 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 the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project. His interview can be accessed here: http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.71666/.]
