Manzanar

Years ago in Bryant Simon's Recent American History Class at University of Georgia, I read


I had no idea it was on US395. So when I saw the signs for Manzanar, I felt compelled to pull over & pay a visit.

The forced imprisonment the 110,000-120,000 people of Japanese descent (most of whom were American Citizens) was well documented by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams. Their pictures are way more insightful than the snapshots I took.

"In the early part of World War II, 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were interned in relocation centers by Executive Order No. 9066, issued on February 19, 1942. Manzanar, the first of ten such concentration camps, was bounded by barbed wire and guard towers, confining 10,000 persons, the majority being American citizens. May the injustices and humiliation suffered here as a result of hysteria, racism, and economic exploitation never emerge again."

The mostly canvas structures no longer stand but their sites are clearly marked.

http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/manzanar2/manzanar_dwg_small.jpeg

How horrible it must have been to be held captive beneath such beautiful mountains and not allowed to be in them, lest one get shot by armed guards.

Guard Tower

Cemetary

Paper Cranes

Yes, that's an Elvis doll left for Baby Jerry Ogata