Bright Star in Dark Times | A Lesson in Quiet Heroism

I think this should be taught in schools; I can’t believe I never heard about Robert Emmett Fletcher Jr., have you?

Robert Emmett Fletcher Jr. was an American agricultural inspector who quit his job to manage fruit farms of Japanese families sent to internment camps during WW2.

Fletcher was born in San Francisco and grew up on a farm in Contra Costa County east of San Francisco. He attended the what would become the University of California at Davis, graduating with an agriculture degree in 1933. He managed a peach orchard and subsequently worked as a state and county agricultural inspector, in which capacity he got to know Japanese American farmers throughout the state.

Upon learning about the looming relocation of Japanese farmers in his area, Fletcher grew concerned. This led to the Tsukamoto family, who owned a grape ranch in Florin near Sacramento, proposing that he take care of their farm while they were away.

They offered him their home and all net profits from the crops (though Fletcher would only take half) after covering farming costs, mortgages, and taxes.

Two other families, the Okamotos and Nittas, also proposed similar arrangements.

Despite deep anti-Japanese sentiment — including a bullet fired into the Tsukamoto barn, Fletcher continued to work. When the families returned home in the fall of 1945, their farms and homes were intact — the Tsukamotos’ home had even been cleaned by Fletcher’s wife Teresa — and half of the profits were waiting for them.

His inspirational story is recounted in history books, including “We the People: A Story of Internment in America” by Elizabeth Pinkerton and Mary Tsukamoto, whose farm he saved.

Fletcher died at the age of 101 in 2013.

This is the face of a quiet hero.