94-year-old Milford storyteller recalls life in internment camp 

By Sofia Mercier

Student writer

Sam Hamilton, 93, was born in America but moved to Shanghai, China, shortly after his birth. He spent his early childhood much like most children - that is, until Dec. 7, 1941, when, at 12 years old, he was taken to a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines.

During WWII, Hamilton was living in Manila, a city in the Philippines then occupied by the Japanese. His family made the Far East their home while his father, Sam Hamiton Sr., worked for The National City Bank of New York. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they created internment camps for enemy aliens, such as the Hamiltons, and the family was taken to a camp at the University of Santo Tomás. 

At the camp, Hamilton’s family constructed a bamboo hut with a roof made from the nipa palm plant to avoid the segregated sleeping quarters. Hamilton recounts “the Japanese had a lot to say about what could be taught.” Children were only able to learn English and math while imprisoned. Protein-rich food was scarce, and Hamilton mostly ate rice and vegetables raised and harvested by the other interns. It was a starvation diet and Hamilton recalls most prisoners were skin and bones, with the average person losing 51 pounds. 

‘Liberation’ was on the tongues of every intern by the summer of 1944. After American General Douglas MacArthur heard the Japanese planned to kill the men and hold the women and children hostage at the camp, his troops arrived on the battle front in 66 hours, crashing into the gates of Santo Tomás after three years. Hamilton was 15 when World War II officially came to a close.

Soon after being liberated, the Hamilton family moved back to the United States. In California, he remembers the “thrill of coming in under the Golden Gate Bridge.” The family traveled to New York by train, settling down on the East Coast. Hamilton began high school shortly after his return to the US, a difficult adaptation after years spent in Asia. Hamilton completed high school and went on to study at Penn State University when the Korean War hit in 1950. Instead of continuing his studies, Hamilton opted to apply for the Air Force and Navy. He, much like many Americans, found it to be his duty to serve the country. He moved to Pensacola, FL, to learn formation flying and gunnery, but the war ended before he was called up. When the United States began to cut off training funds, Hamilton dropped the program and hitchhiked back to Pennsylvania to finish out his college years. 

Later, Hamilton married his wife and had three children, working in the meatpacking and hardware businesses. He spent much of his time training and running in marathons, running two Boston Marathons and five others in Maine. 

Throughout his life, the days of imprisonment followed Hamilton, but it was in 1995 that he was finally able to regain a sense of closure with his experiences. He and his brother Bill joined 25 other internees for a reunion in Manila. The group shared tears and laughter as they reminisced over their time together. Hamilton said, “The trip brought back memories I had forgotten about. That’s part of closure.” 

Now, Hamilton lives in a retirement home in Milford (near family) with his sweetheart Rosaline Pine. He spends his time enjoying the fresh air, with Rosaline, and sharing stories about his life. 

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