A Day of Remembrance in Colorado for Signing of WWII Order Leading to Japanese Internment

As the United States struggles with the presence within its borders of those whose heritage is connected with a wartime enemy, Japanese Buddhists and others in Denver, Colorado gathered to share about and remember the Japanese internment authorized on February 19, 2007 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, known as Executive Order 9066.

Although California is better known for its Japanese population, Colorado is also home to many Japanese, some of whom are descendants of settlers from over 100 years ago. Colorado was also home to one of the internment camps, known as Camp Amache, located in Granada, Colorado.

The gathering and exhibit, attended by this reporter, took place at the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple, one of several in the Denver area, and a focal point for the Japanese-American community. The presentations included oral history projects, a diorama of the camp which showed its large size, and various memorial projects, from quilts to books. Memorabilia, including official notices and photographs, were also on display.

Executive Order 9066 gave the government wide-ranging powers of removal and relocation, and later was used to establish ten permanent internment camps, which according to the official notices on display were locations to which Japanese-American families were directed with minimal household goods, including one set each of items such as eating utensils and bed linens, limited clothing and personal items. Over the next several years, guards would commit injustices such as shooting and killing "while trying to escape" several inmates at various camps who were either mentally or physically ill. Films were made and shown in the U.S. that fueled anti-Japanese sentiment, including against Japanese-Americans. Japanese businesses were boycotted, non-Japanese owners taking over Japanese businesses had to make clear that they were "real Americans."