On December 8, 1941, the United States of America declared war against the Empire of Japan as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. On February 19, 1942, the United States of America declared war on 120,000 of its own American citizens for the very same reason. 

This was a horrifying chapter in United States history. This was a story of thousands of American citizens forcefully arrested and imprisoned without due process because of their race … not because of what they thought or what they did. I studied these events as subject material for one of my novels.

On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, and American citizens of Japanese descent lost their homes, businesses, bank accounts, and their dignity when they were ordered to take one suitcase or one pillowcase full of possessions and board buses and trucks for unknown destinations. Eleven-year-old Pat Morita was interred at the Gila River Camp in Arizona, then transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. Five-year-old George Takei and his family were forced to live in horse stables at Santa Anita Racetrack until moved to Rohwer War Relocation Camp in Arkansas, then moved back to the Tule Lake War Relocation Camp in California. 

These relocation camps were more akin to prison camps, where people were forced to live in barracks wrapped in tar paper. Food was substandard, sanitary conditions were deplorable, and medical services were limited. Guard towers had machine guns pointing into camps that were surrounded by barbed wire. They endured blistering heat and freezing cold, but mostly constant hate.

This weekend marks the 81st anniversary of this dark chapter in American history. Please take a moment to reflect on the past so we do not repeat it.