LARAMIE — Sam Mihara will give a personal account of the Heart Mountain Japanese-American Relocation Center Thursday, Sept. 25, at the University of Wyoming.

His free public presentation, titled “Memories of Heart Mountain,” is 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Room 310 of the Classroom Building.

Mihara educates people and helps ensure such civil rights violations do not happen again. In his presentation, he tells the story of his family and what happened to them; why the camps were created; and the important lessons that were learned from this experience.

During World War II, more than 14,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were detained in barracks at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center between Cody and Powell in Park County. Heart Mountain was where Mihara was imprisoned as a child, along with his family.

Mihara is now a retired engineer from Boeing/McDonnell Douglas. He was a rocket scientist who helped send several satellites into orbit.

He is a member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, a museum created in 2011 at the camp site. Mihara also has told his story at numerous schools, colleges and the U.S. Department of Justice offices.

The UW History Club’s Phi Alpha Theta Chapter sponsors Mihara’s talk.

For more information, visit the website at https://sammihara.com.