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Visiting the WWII Japanese American Internment Camps
When I first drove to Manzanar in the winter, I was struck immediately by the sheer immensity of the place. The Owens Valley is a vast remote configuration; the plane of the valley floor seems to go on forever. On the western edge there… Continue Reading “The Immensity of Place”
It might have been a place of fond memories of songs and skits were it a summer camp dining hall. It might have been a place of stability were it a military Mess Hall. The first would have been part of a voluntary experience.… Continue Reading “No Meals at Home”
As if the lack of privacy in the barracks was not enough, the bathroom and shower facilities were housed in military-style latrine buildings. The one shown here is a reconstruction of a Women’s Latrine (there was one for women and one for men in… Continue Reading “The Women’s Latrine”
Have you ever lived in military barracks? The worst military barracks of our era (constructed shortly after World War II and used at least through the Vietnam War) were far better than the barracks at Manzanar. For one thing, the military barracks were solidly… Continue Reading “LIVING IN BARRACKS”
Manzanar and the nine other WRA Camps were called all manner of things. FDR first referred to them as “Concentration camps,” when his administration was considering the detainment of over 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry. As they rolled out the detainment, the administration shifted… Continue Reading “It was a prison camp…”
It isn’t full of water yet, but it is an historic place of beauty. This weekend, water in the pond will bless all those who visit as part of the Annual Pilgrimage to Manzanar. One of the good things that happened at Manzanar was… Continue Reading “Places of Beauty – Arai Pond”
Driving through the Owens Valley, past Bishop and another hour down to Manzanar, I can’t help wondering what was going through the minds of the coastal urban dwellers who were brought out into the middle of this vast, stark area. The War Relocation Authority,… Continue Reading “The First Sign”
Rather, Who Was Sent to Manzanar? It was not a voluntary act. There were wholesale violations of civil liberties in moving thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry to the WRA Camps. Some people did theoretically “Volunteer” to go to the camps in the early… Continue Reading “Who Went to Manzanar?”
© Art Mills Photos Getting ready for my trip to Manzanar… I’m filled with anticipation as I get ready to take the next step on my journey. This will be my third trip to Manzanar, but my first on this Journey of Conscience. The… Continue Reading “The First Step…Manzanar”
President Franklyn D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, setting in motion the process that would strip the Constitutional Rights from 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and move them to prison camps. Signing the executive order was preceded by an intense… Continue Reading “SUPPORTERS & OPPONENTS”
JOURNEY of CONSCIENCE 