Nevertheless, as Japanese Americans, Ogawa and his family members were involuntarily relocated by the U.S. government to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Millard County, Utah following the signing of Executive Order 9066; they were detained there for the duration of World War II.

[9] More than 600 people, including a representative of Oakland's sister city of Fukuoka, Japan, attended Ogawa's memorial service.

When Frank and Grace Ogawa were forced to sell their belongings and live in internment camps during World War II, they had to sleep on straw mattresses in horse stalls for six months before being shipped to a camp in Utah to spend another 3 1/2 years in confinement.

Just the opposite--he strived to prove his loyalty to his country and became an internationally recognized champion of Asian-Americans in the process.

"[3] She went on to say "Having served five years on the Oakland Parks Commission, Frank Ogawa was elected to the city council in 1966, making him the first Japanese-American to hold a council seat in a major city in the continental United States.