Kuwashi Edward Iwataki, who went by the nickname "Kuwa," was a Los Angeles-born Japanese-American who enlisted in the military during World War II, serving with the 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Iwataki was raised in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. His father worked in the insurance industry, and his mother occasionally taught Japanese lessons. Kuwashi attended John Marshall High School and worked delivering the Japanese-American newspaper Rafu Shimpo.

Iwataki enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 8, 1942. He was sent to several California bases before being sent to Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his family was interned at the nearby Jerome War Relocation Center. Iwataki became engaged to and married Sadae Nomura on June 6, 1943, and they had a daughter, Linda, on September 22, 1944. Sadae and her in-laws moved to New York, where the letters in the collection are addressed.

After his discharge, Iwataki was reunited with his wife and daughter in New York. He studied dentistry on the GI Bill. He and Sadae had five children together, and eventually returned to Southern California where they were active in the Japanese-American community, including the redress movement and the annual pilgrimage to the Manzanar War Relocation Center, where Sadae's family was interned.

Source: Johnson Rare Books & Archives, Covina, CA.