During my family vacation out west this summer we stopped for a night in Lone Pine Ca., traveling from Las Vegas to Yosemite.  Always on the lookout for interesting side trips, I sought out local literature during dinner and learned the Manzanar National Historic Site was just 10 minutes outside of town — and right along our path to Yosemite.  Manzanar was one of ten relocation centers— internment camps— where Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during WWII, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

The US National Park Service maintains a museum at the site including an exhibit in the original camp assembly hall, recreated barracks, a drive through the largely barren grounds, and an obelisk memorializing the experiences of those so unjustly confined. The story is well-told, highlighting the dangers of fear and prejudice, as well as the fragility of our freedoms.

While working for the National Geographic Channel twenty years ago I was afforded the opportunity to talk with Japanese Americans who were held at some of the other camps during this tragic time. They recounted their experiences in advance of the dedication of a new monument in Washington, DC designed to remind of us of this sad chapter in our history and insure we don’t repeat these wrongs.