Like other boomers in coastal California, I grew up with many Japanese American friends and neighbors whose families had been interned. Not unlike other Americans with dramatic wartime experiences, they afterwards tended to not talk much about what happened to them but things would come out in conversation over time. There was a growing awareness of the injustices that began around here in the 60s and it became a topic of increasing publicity and coverage in school. A book, Farewell to Manzanar, was written in the early 70s.

There was a regiment of mostly Japanese American young men, recruited and then many drafted from the camps, who fought with distinction in the US Army in Europe.

I visited the Manzanar camp just last year, it's run by the National Park Service. The exhibits are comprehensive and unbelievably saddening. My feelings while there were not different from how I've felt when visiting a half dozen-plus Nazi concentration camps in Germany and other European locations. It was a massive mistake by FD Roosevelt. One of many, unfortunately - he's remembered by many with far more reverence than he deserves.

One little known fact - the region of the US that had the highest concentration of people of Japanese ethnic origin was Hawaii. Pearl Harbor served as HQ and the central point for the Pacific fighting of the US Navy during all of WW2. It was also a staging point for the US Army. People of Japanese ancestry living in Hawaii were NOT interned en masse. I don't know if their employment by the US government or military was restricted but they were left to go about their business and lead their lives in the heart of an important wartime zone.

Viewed from any perspective, the internment was illegal, unnecessary, and tragic. Many of the internees lost their business and property they had worked hard to get.

There is an excellent book entitled Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford about this time in our history. I've read it twice. I knew nothing of this. It wasn't taught in any US History class when I was in HS. (long ago)

Alisande, thanks for linking those photos.

H B, I agree whole heartily with your last statement.

In 1972 Richard Conrat, an assistant to Dorothea Lange in her later years, organized the ground-breaking national photo exhibit "Executive Order 9066", shown concurrently in SF and Berkeley. It toured the country afterwards, and also had a revival in 1992 in Los Angeles (which has the largest population of Japanese Americans in the U.S.).

I was working in the SF Japanese community at the time helping to produce an independent local video on the diversity of Japanese-American Sansei women. The 9066 show made an enormous impact on families. Many, many Sanseis commented it was the first time they had EVER heard their parents say anything about the camp experience.

One of the most interesting aspects of the internment experience has been the extraordinarily high rate of intermarriage in third- and fourth-generation Japanese Americans. It is a distinct cultural shift unmatched by any other racial immigrant group.

At the time the 9066 show came out, one of the most startling statistics they found was that the Sansei generation had married outside the Japanese American ethnicity by a shocking 71%. So the vast majority of Yonseis, fourth-generation, are mixed blood.

In my family I can say (as a Boomer) that both my parents were intensely American-focused. They preferred Japanese-American professionals as their doctors, lawyers, etc., but they were extremely focused on behaving like white suburbans. With friends and cousins I used to laugh about it, but we all agreed it seemed a common behavior with our parents.

It is surprisingly rare, for example, for Niseis (second-generation, my parents who were college age in camps) to speak any Japanese. In both my mother and father's families, with 8 and 9 kids, only the two oldest in each family could speak any Japanese. The rest of the children deliberately forgot how.

By the time I was 11 yrs old and my maternal grandmother came to live with us for a few years, my mother could not speak to her. She hadn't spoken Japanese in decades and forgotten it completely, while her mother spoke no English. My father had to do all the translating, LOL.

An excellent description of the photography exhibit, its contributors, its detractors and historical context, is at:

http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Executive_Order_9066_%28exhibition%29/

Thank you for bringing this up alidande.

elmer, you and I may abut each other in history/placement (Monterey 1972-1978ish), so I'm wondering, how did you know they were in camps? I was young, and I really thought they just immigrated here because we were the closer Coast. Really young. Did they tell you stories?

RE the Japanese heritage residents of Hawaii-- I watched a movie on Dec. 7 (made in 1943) that went out of its way to claim (as part of the story) that Japanese-Americans had joined in attacking US forces in and around Pearl Harbor -- which was a blatant falsehood.

I visited the remains of Manzanar back in the 80's -- at that time there were no exhibits, just the remains of buildings and a few signs.

I have two friends who were in camps. They came and spoke to our 5th grade classes about that part of history and their experiences. There is also a book for middle schoolers, Farewell to Manzanar. Should be required reading.

I visited Manzanar too a few years ago, Elmer. It is a forlorn place of stark beauty. I didn't see any exhibits; maybe it was closed.

Thank you for posting this, Alisande. I gave it a quick once-over and will view again when I have more time. It is very well done.

My mother is nisei and married a British citizen (not Japanese). She can still speak Japanese but none of my generation speaks Japanese (whether mixed marriage or not). As far as Hawaii, I think there were too many Japanese people to intern, and they held many political positions to fight against being interned. There is a book (in English) called Kodomo No Tame Ni (for the Sake of the Children) about the Japanese American experience in Hawaii.

I recently listened to a wonderful audiobook that tells the true story of a Japanese-American family during WW II. Part of the family had returned to Japan prior to the war and a couple of brothers served in the Japanese military. Meanwhile, the family still in the U.S. were sent to an internment camp and at least one of the brothers became a highly valued member of the U.S. military. So brother fought brother. The wartime experience of all the family members, in Japan and while serving overseas, is described including the atomic bomb attack. Title has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds

rob, yes, lots of stories over the years. Some of my parents' close friends were Japanese-Americans. I've taken several California history classes, both during my college years and more recently. I was born in LA in the 50s and grew up there. Moved to the Bay Area as a young adult, coinciding with your early few years in Monterey. What's interesting is that the flow of immigrants from Japan really slowed down after the war, for whatever reason. There are a number of Japanese Cultural Centers around, formerly hot spots for community events, that have closed. San Jose had a very active Japantown. It's still there but the community is less active. Maybe the slowdown in Japanese-American community events is a function of both intermarriage jakkom mentions and assimilation. There's been an explosion in popularity of sushi restaurants and most of them around here are owned and run by Koreans. Nothing wrong with that at all but it was different some decades ago.

rae, the community center building, like a big gym or dance hall (which they said was original and well built) had many exhibits of artifacts of daily life, the camp and a film presentation. It's called the Visitor Center now. There were several barracks to visit, perhaps they'd been rebuilt? All contained collections of items dating from the period.

socks, I was there in October of last year, returning from a visit to Death Valley. I'm not sure what to say about the exhibits I saw that you didn't, maybe they're newly done? If you go to the website, it will outline what's available now.

The Owens Valley is a desolate place. Not unlike much of that part of the state.

I was a young lad during WW2 and not exposed to the injustices of internment. My family lived an isolated life on a small farm during that time and my sister and I were never told about such things. Much later in life when I took a job after graduation, I became acquainted with a Japanese-American who had spent his high school days in an internment camp. His parents were immigrants. They suffered great losses. His Dad "owned" a tract of land in one of the fertile California valleys and was building an vegetable production business. Like many others, he had borrowed heavily to purchase the property and his prospects were bright for earning enough to pay off the mortgage. His bother had a ocean going fishing boat and was building his business. The internment killed their chances at making their mark. When the order came, they had only a few days to close up and pack for camp. They had no time to make business arrangements. The father lost his farm since he could no longer make payments and there was pressure to keep his land in production. The brother thought he had an understanding with someone to hold his boat. The problem was there was no way of predicting when he might return, if ever. He lost his boat.

They were devout Buddhists, and while confined, they leaned heavily upon their Faith to retain their sanity. Several other did not fare as well. My friend did get high schooling; I never learned if it was public or not. Larger private gatherings was frowned on. From his description, life in camp was cold and harsh in winter. There never enough of anything.

After the War, they were released, but never paid for their losses. His bother could no longer fish as he had no boat and others had filled any gaps he might have been able to enter. That business opportunity was gone. He had to work for others, and jobs for him were meager. After the close of the war, jobs in the US became scarce. Many businesses offer returning servicemen their old jobs, thus displacing the current worker. The same fate met the father. Land was no longer available. The family faced destitution.

Somehow, through this tribulation, the family did not develop hatred nor teach hate to their children. Instead, they told their children this was an unfortunate event that would be overcome if they kept their faith. Of course, they were very sad. The family's chance of establishing themselves had been wrecked.

These stories need to be told. It is one of my biggest shocks during high school to learn of this event and how blacks were LEGALLY treated pre-Martin Luther King Jr. I can't wrap my head around that sort of ignorance. In the case if WWII it was fear but still not an excuse.

This is so gut wrenching. Everything about WW2 is. I have stopped at two camps, while driving through Colorado a long long time ago. Nothing left there, but the grid of the "streets" and some foundation walls. All in a hugely desolated area.

"Somehow, through this tribulation, the family did not develop hatred nor
teach hate to their children. Instead, they told their children this
was an unfortunate event that would be overcome if they kept their
faith."

Isn't this utterly amazing?? How many people do you know who would take that attitude after such treatment? Thanks for posting your story, Jemdandy.

As I understand it and have experienced myself in a limited way, quiet acceptance and conformity are part of the Japanese ethos. A saying attributed to the Japanese, whether rightfully or not, cautions that the nail that stands out gets pounded down.

Thank you all for your responses. I will echo H B's statement:

Let us never cause citizens of our country to suffer this fate.

Many times during the presidential campaign it felt as though we were headed in that direction. Nothing has happened since to reassure me that we are not. Yes, let us never....