Robert Emmett Fletcher Jr. (July 26, 1911 – May 23, 2013) was an American agricultural inspector who quit his job to care for the fruit farms of Japanese families during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, after many Japanese Americans were forcibly sent to internment camps as a result of Executive Order 9066.

Early life

Fletcher was born on July 26, 1911, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 1929, he graduated from high school in Brentwood, where he had grown up. In 1933, he graduated from

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

, with a degree in agriculture. During

, he married Teresa Cassieri, and they had a son: Robert Fletcher III. After the war, the family purchased land in Florin, and raised cattle.

Career

After college, Fletcher ran a peach orchard in

Red Bluff, California Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census. It is located north of Sacramento, south of Redding, and it is bisect ...

, and then became a state shipping point inspector (agriculture inspector). Starting in 1942, Fletcher began working for the Florin Fire Department. That same year, Fletcher agreed to manage 90 acres of grapes for Japanese citizens who had been relocated as a result of Executive Order 9066. The grape farms were located in Florin. Fletcher claimed to have been harassed by his own community, and he also found bullet holes in his barn. He used the proceeds from farming the land to pay the taxes for the interned Japanese. From 1942 to 1945, he managed the Tsukamoto, Nitta, and Okamoto farms. Fletcher's wife Teressa Cassieri also worked the farms. Fletcher kept half the net profits after paying mortgages and taxes on the farms, and returned the remaining net profits to the Japanese farmers when they were released.

Later life and death

Fletcher retired from the Florin Fire Department in 1974, as the paid chief. In 2005, he spoke about Japanese Internment before the Lodi Historical Society in

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city located in San Joaquin County, California, in the center portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The estimated population is approximately 67,586 according to 2019 census data. L ...

. In 2011, he was feted with a birthday bash, and honored for his heroism and his story was being told in books. Fletcher died on May 23, 2013, in Sacramento. He did not get recognition for his efforts until later in life. Most of the interned Japanese lost everything during the war.

References

External links

Robert Emmett Fletcher Jr. at Legacy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Bob Emmett 1911 births 2013 deaths Internment of Japanese Americans American centenarians Men centenarians University of California, Davis alumni People from San Francisco People from Red Bluff, California