The  WWII  Alien Registration Act , involved Internments, Relocations, Severe Restrictions on Activities of 600,000 Italians, 300,000 Germans and 100,000 Japanese. All the Records were labelled as Top Secret, and there fore little was known, and little believed by those people who spoke out, since most were ashamed to recount how their country was treating them while 700,000 of their Italian sons were fighting  and dying in the US Military. 

The Greatest Abuses occurred on the West Coast, and were finally Revealed in the 1990s, 50 years later, when Japanese and Italians sued to open the Archives. While 100,000 Japanese from California were Interred, and given Food, Housing, and Necessities, 10,000 Italians were merely thrown out of their Homes and Businesses, with NOTHING. The Japanese pressed for and received Reparations, while Italians received NOTHING !!!! 

It took more than a dozen years of writing letters, making phone calls and dogged determination, but Chet Campanella finally has a formal acknowledgement and an apology from the state of California for the treatment of some Italian-Americans during World War II.

The 79-year old native San Josean, a retired pharmacist and longtime Willow Glen resident, has been trying for years to increase public awareness of injustices suffered by his relatives and other Italian-Americans during the war. He finally found an ally in state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto.)

On March 25 the legislature announced the passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution 95 with "the Legislature's formal acknowledgement that the treatment of Italian-Americans during World War II represented a fundamental injustice against Italian-Americans, its deepest regrets of these acts and its reaffirmation of a commitment to preserving the rights of all people and celebrating their contributions."

Campanella, who testified before the Senate rules committee considering the bill, said after its passage, "I'm so delighted and I'm so happy for the survivors here in the United States and California.

"We finally got what we deserve. It's been a long time coming."

The bill acknowledges the long-hidden fact that more than 10,000 Italian Americans living on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and prohibited from entering coastal zones during the war.

It also acknowledges that thousands of Italian immigrants were arrested and interned in military camps during the war.

Many Italian-Americans, including Campanella's parents, were required to carry identification cards, adhere to a curfew and limit travel.

Simitian said, "The treatment during World War II of people who were unjustly considered 'suspicious' because of their ethnic background was a sad chapter for our state. 

"For survivors of that experience and their descendents, I hope this resolution will provide a long-due measure of recognition and respect.

"Given America's ongoing conflict abroad, the WWII experience is an important reminder of the need to respect the role and rights of those who have ties abroad."

While the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is well known, the similar treatment of Italian and German immigrants is not.

Campanella is quick to point out that the U.S. government made a formal apology to Japanese-Americans in 1988 and paid reparation of $20,000 to each survivor.

He says he doesn't want reparation, but he would like to see a formal government apology to Italian immigrants.

To that end he's been working with U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Campbell) and says he's been told it will be at least another year before anything happens at that level.

Now that he has the apology from the state, Campanella believes the state should also agree "to the construction of a monument in the memory of the people who were made to endure these horrible things and acknowledge the harm done."

Given the state's current fiscal crisis, Campanella says he knows there is no money to build a monument, but he believes if the state would donate land, then interested citizens would raise money for a monument.

The ideal place, he says, is Shoreline Park in Monterey.

"The fishermen in Monterey not only lost their boats and livelihoods, they were forced to board up their homes and had to evacuate inland," he says.

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