Remembering Manzanar
Manzanar War Relocation Center...
Most of what I write about is generally focused on the joyful things that encourage me, and the happy places that spark my spirit of adventure. This post, however, speaks to my spirit in a different, deeply personal, and disturbing way. Today I write about the hardships of this dark place and time, in hopes that as we remember we will also grow in wisdom, learning from our devastating choices so that we never repeat these mistakes in the future.
The History
Manzanar was one of 10 World War II American concentration camps created after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In February 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, and military zones were created in California, Washington, and Oregon. The order allowed for the forcible relocation and incarceration of Americans with Japanese ancestry (up to 1/16 Japanese). By June 1942, nearly 120,000 people were uprooted by this order. The majority of them were US born American citizens, and some were given as little as 48 hours to pack up only what they could carry, and leave behind their jobs, businesses and the only home many had ever known.
A Personal Connection
This has become incredibly personal to me as an adult, because my husband, the wonderful man I married, has a beautiful grandmother who was born in the USA to Japanese parents. She and her entire family were sent to Rohwer, one of the 10 relocation camps. I shutter to think that my dear husband could ever be taken from me and sent away because of his heritage but that is indeed what happened to countless families. President Reagan said about the injustice decades later, “This action was taken without trial, without jury. It was based solely on race.”
Preservation & Dedication
Thanks to activists and former Manzanar internees, Manzanar has now become a National Historic Site overseen by the U.S. National Park Service. One of those former internees was Sue Kunitomi Embrey, who helped organize the first Manzanar pilgrimage back in 1969. Sue spoke out about her wartime experiences at Manzanar, and led the charge to have Manzanar dedicated as a historic landmark for two decades.
Visitor Center
The current Manzanar National Historic Site has an impressive Visitor Center, where you can watch the 20 minute film “Remembering Manzanar.” You can also view important exhibits, including the layout of the original camp, as well as painful but important articles and images that show the clear racial prejudice and hatred Japanese Americans faced after Pearl Harbor.
Block 14
Manzanar held over 10,000 internees from 1942 to 1945. Although the original buildings of Manzanar are long gone, you’ll find Block 14 next to the Visitor Center, which has two reconstructed barracks, a mess hall, and many informative exhibits. Located in California’s high desert, it’s not difficult to imagine many hardships these new residents must have gone through. Hastily fabricated barracks were made from scrap lumber and tarpaper. They lacked any proper insulation, and must’ve been unbearably hot during the unforgiving desert Summers, and frigid in the bitterly cold Winter months.
Cemetary
Everything about Manzanar is weighty, but one of the most emotional places to visit here has to be the “soul consoling” obelisk. This monument at the Manzanar cemetery commemorates the 150 men, women and children who died during their time here. While only a few remain buried in this spot, it’s a significant and somber place for reflection and remembrance.
Exploring Manzanar
Manzanar is open to the public year round and 7 days a week. You should plan to spend at least an hour or two in the Visitor Center and barracks. From there be sure to take the self-guided driving tour around the site, which can take another hour or two, depending on how many stops you make to explore the different areas. It’s humbling to walk across the beautiful bridges and along the now faded garden foundation paths built by the internees over seven decades ago. It’s incredible to gaze out on the basketball court and old baseball field that once helped bring a small sense of normalcy to those held here, all while having a perfectly clear view of the machine gun-ready watch guard tower and barbed wire fence that kept innocent American citizens imprisoned for the crime of being born Japanese.
Important facts to keep in mind when visiting:
• The Visitor Center is open daily from 9am to 4:30pm.
• The self-guided driving tour of the site grounds is just over 3 miles, and is open daily from dawn until dusk.
• There is no fee to enter the Visitor Center or to explore the site’s 814 acres.
• Wildlife is abundant in the area (including rattlesnakes), so keep watch as you explore.
• TAKE ONLY PHOTOS, LEAVE ONLY FOOTSTEPS. While you are free to roam the grounds, these are protected areas. There is absolutely NO collecting of artifacts. Please leave everything exactly where you found it.
• There are spots with no cell service here.
• Pets are allowed on the site, but they must be leashed at all times. They are not allowed in the fenced area of the cemetery or in any of the buildings (including the visitor center).
• There is very little shade here, and temperatures often reach over 100 degrees F in the Summer months
• There is no food or beverages sold at Manzanar, however there are water fountains in the Visitor Center and parking lot.
• Clean wheelchair accessible and family friendly restrooms can be found in the Visitor Center. There are also wheelchair friendly portable toilets near the cemetery (about half way through the self-driving tour.
• The closest amenities are as follows: Lone Pine is 8 miles to the south. Independence is 6 miles to the north. Both are the closest places to have food, gas and lodging.
Impactful Words
“We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.”
- George HW Bush
The Inclusion of Manzanar in the National Park Service system was a controversial choice both locally and nationally. It represents a dark and shameful episode in our country’s past, but I am encouraged and spurred on by the words below of Sue Kunitomi Embrey…
“Manzanar need not be a reminder of an event which negates American democracy. It can and must be a positive model of what our nation is willing to do. Democracy is a fragile concept, only is good and a strong as the people who practice it. Let us tell the world that we are a people, strong and resolute, acknowledging the errors of the past in order not to repeat them in the future. This is the legacy which we believe Manzanarez door site can leave for future generations, for Americans of every creed and color, to learn from the past and to guide the future to strengthen equal justice under the law towards brother And human dignity.”
“I think it’s important for the country to tell the world that we are a democracy. And not only that we are a democracy, but that we work at it. We work very hard at being a democracy, For all of us, for everybody who lives here.
“The working at it is the important part.”
“I wanted People 50 years from now to remember what was there. Although it was a negative place, we wanted to turn it around to be positive, so that people will always remember that America is a democracy. We want to shout to the world that we are a great nation… Willing to say were sorry about what we did; that were willing to make the change. It’s important for us as a democracy to be able to do that.”
Additional Resources
There are so many wonderful resources with more information and details below I’m listing a few of them...
For official Manzanar Hisorical Site information:
https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm
Manzanar Visitor Center Museum Information:
https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/manz/index.html
Ansel Adams made multiple trips to Manzanar to document what he considered “people suffering great injustice”, and published the controversial “Born Free and Equal”. You can view the images he captured here:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/ansel-adams-manzanar/about-this-collection/
In Summary & Behind the Blog Video
A visit to Manzanar is so important because no amount of reading can replace feeling the cruel wind and sand whipping across your face in this desolate place. It is an absolute must visit on your drive up Highway 395 from Los Angles to Mammoth, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, or Yosemite.
For more views of this historic place, you can watch the Behind the Blog video below. Thank you for taking the time to remember this place and the precious lives that were affected by it.
“Nidoto Nai Yoni”
”Let it not happen again”