Day of remembrance: February 19
| By Paul Kusuda In February, we remember President Washington, President Lincoln, and others. Some of us have other remembrances. We remember some good occurrances, some not so good. We remember some things to help us avoid potential problems in the future. Many times, we remember things whether or not we want to keep them in our thoughts. Many persons of Japanese ancestry have a day of remembrance — Feb. 19, 1942. Nearly two months after the "Day of Infamy," Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt promulgated Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942. It resulted in devastating effects on 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were uprooted from their homes in California, Oregon, and Washington and forceably sent for indefinite stays in Wartime Civilian Control Administration Assembly Centers and later to War Authority Relocation Centers in desolate areas in seven states, from California and Arizona to as far east as Arkansas. Executive Order 9066 proclaimed: "… I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, … to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion." The Order also noted that it shall not "…be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice… for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas thereunder." The order did not cite Germans, Italians, or Japanese even though the United States was at war with the Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan. It also did not make reference to American citizens; however, the last sentence of the order appeared to note indirectly that control of others than alien enemies can be related to designation of military areas. It's been 66 years since Executive Order 9066 was promulgated. Most of us who were personally involved in getting things in order, saying our "goodbyes," disposing most of our belongings, and packing for our trip to unknown destinations and for an unknown period of time, are gone. Those of us who are still hanging around have our memories. We had both similar and dissimilar experiences, responses and memories of what happened. My recollection of the experiences will be reported in part in the following issues of Asian Wisconzine. Many families had extremely short notice "to get out of town." Others were fortunate to have had more advance notice by observing what happened to other families. Those who lived in Terminal Island, Calif., had very little notice — less than 10 days. "Vultures" swept in and offered to buy household and other items at prices less than 10 percent of value — many times much less! Families destroyed belongings such as traditional clothes, heirloom china and silverware, antiques, and so forth, rather than giving in to such loathsome people. No one was told how far the families had to move away from Terminal Island, a tuna-fishing and cannery district. Many moved to areas in east Los Angeles where relatives and friends lived. Many from L.A. (including me) rode on large wood panel-sided trucks to help families move belongings such as clothing, household items and furniture. With "vultures" continuing to taunt families, we moved load after load of stuff to L.A. Within a couple of months, the families were again forced to move, many to the Manzanar Relocation Center, which became the Kusuda address also. However, because of severely restrictive governmental instructions, they had to leave much behind again. In L.A., as in other urban areas, 10" by 12" posters were nailed to telephone poles in selected parts of the city. The notices were explicit: "Instructions to all persons of Japanese ancestry living in the following areas:" The areas were described by county, highways (if applicable), and streets — north, east, south, and west. One such notice (probably like all others) noted " … all persons of Japanese ancestry, both aliens and non-aliens, will be evacuated …" The notice, dated April 24, 1942, set the evacuation date for one week later at noon. Once an area was posted and families evacuated, it was a forbidden area for persons of Japanese ancestry, whether alien or non-alien. It was of interest that we American citizens were re-categorized as non-aliens, a euphemism that implied that we, like our parents, were supposed enemies of our country. (To be noted is that Japanese immigrants were not eligible to become naturalized American citizens until 1952.) In the next and following issues of Asian Wisconzine, I shall write about what we were allowed to take with us to our new "homes" for an unknown period of time. Some families used the offer included in the Exclusion Notice: "The United States Government through its agencies will provide for the storage at the sole risk of the owner of the more substantial household items, such as iceboxes, washing machines, pianos and other heavy furniture." Other families, having little trust, did not even consider the offer. Actually, I think most people were not even aware of it. So little time, so much to do. |