Sunday,
July 23, 2006
"No-No boys"
Japanese Internment Camp to become National Historic Landmark???
The
ANNOTICO Report
During
WWII, in the
10,000 Italian
Americans were EVACUATED from their homes and places of business in
"exclusionary zones", and sent to internment camps around the
country. Most Italian Americans had lived in the
Daily travels were subject to dusk-to-dawn CURFEWS. For example, the father of
baseball great Joe DiMaggio was not permitted to visit his son's restaurant on
Fisherman's Wharf. Fishermen and sailors were particularly targeted, and were
NOT ALLOWED TO WORK as fishermen, and in some
instances had their BOATS SEIZED.
Italian-American residents registered en masse as enemy aliens.TRAVEL was
Restricted, and were subject to INSPECTION AND SEARCH on demand.Many had their HOMES SEARCHED for flashlights and
radios, an! d PROPERTY CONFISCATED.
With
Few Exceptions the Italian Americans were willing to sign loyalty oaths, and agree to serve in the
[Una Storia Segreta:
A Secret Story: Because Italian Americans were ashamed to talk about it, AND
the US Government Italian American Internment files were Classified SECRET,
until the 90s. http://www.segreta.org/ ]
In
the case below, a National Historic Landmark is to be commemorated to the
Japanese Internees, the "No-No boys," because they had answered
"no" to or refused to
answer a two-part loyalty question
that asked internees to renounce the Japanese emperor and agree to serve in the
U.S. armed forces.
We
are going to Celebrate Those who Condoned the Attacks
on
Is
this world gone Nuts? What next a Shrine to Tojo? To
Emperor Hirohito ??????
The
A community of nearly 20,000 people, it had more than 1,600 buildings spread
across 7,400 acres, with vast vegetable fields, a pig farm, a newspaper and a
school.
Most
of those internees were known as the "No-No boys," because they had
answered "no" to or
refused to answer a two-part LOYALTY
question that asked internees to renounce the Japanese emperor and agree to
serve in the
There
has been a six-year effort to designate the site a National Historic Landmark by former internees, among others.
Efforts
to designate
By
Julie Cart,
Times
Staff Writer
July 23, 2006
NEWELL,
A community of nearly 20,000 people, it had more than 1,600 buildings spread
across 7,400 acres, with vast vegetable fields, a pig farm, a newspaper and a
school.
Surrounded
by a 10-foot-high barbed wire "man-proof" fence and 28 watchtowers,
and guarded by a battalion of soldiers and eight armored tanks, the Tule Lake
Segregation Center near the Oregon border was the nation's largest Japanese
American internment camp and in time became the only one of the 10 in the
country that was designated for internees considered security risks.
Most of those internees were known as the "No-No boys," because they
had answered "no" to or
refused to answer a two-part
loyalty question that asked internees to renounce the Japanese emperor and
agree to serve in the
Little remains at the site today except a barren conc!
rete jail, a
weather-battered carpenter's shop and two aging motor pool buildings.
A six-year effort to designate the site a national historic landmark culminated
earlier this month with a ceremony at the camp. But former internees, the Modoc
County Board of Supervisors and the National Park Service, among others, have
been campaigning almost as long for the camp to become a state or national park
or be turned over to a nonprofit group.
Proponents of preservation warn that unless action is taken soon, one of the
most significant vestiges of World War II-era American history will pass beyond
repair as the buildings continue to decay.
"It is viewed as the most important of all the camps, in terms of the
story it tells," said Jon Jarvis, the park service's Pacific regional
director. "The jail is considered the most important remaining building of
all the camps. Everybody recognizes it's time to do something."
Within a few years of the camp's closing in! the
summer of 1946, the once-sprawling settlement was dismantled. Some buildings fell victim to weather and time. Much of what remained was
scavenged: The jail's metal bars were salvaged for scrap; the internee barracks
were cut in half and given to homesteading veterans; and an officers club was
converted into a grocery store.
Even the headstones from the camp's cemetery were taken as souvenirs and the
cemetery was converted into a landfill.
But some artifacts remain. The water and sewage systems designed and built by
the internees are still used by households in Newell. Although many of the
camp's original structures are intact, they have been moved and are scattered
around the
Park service officials say there are more buildings remaining from
Today the park service operates! two former internment
camps: Manzanar, near Bishop,
The campaign to preserve
The park service has requested congressional authorization to study
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville), who represents the area, has begun work
on a bill authorizing the study, a spokeswoman said last week.
Much of the work that would go int! o the study was completed during the landmark designation
process, according to Jarvis. He said that among the purposes of the study
would be gauging community interest in the camp, determining whether local
sentiment favors a park and, if so, ascertaining how big it should be and what
facilities ought to be included.
Most of the land that made up the camp is divided among about 300 private
owners. The 45 acres included within the boundaries of the historic landmark
are owned by the California Department of Transportation and the federal Bureau
of Reclamation.
Craig Dorman, superintendent of nearby
"The destruction and vandalism have been ongoing since the end of the war.
The future of this camp rests with the politicians and the people here. This
could be a real loss, t! o our national history and
the rich history of this region," he said.
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