Minidoka National Historic Site

 Friday, June 18, 2016

Yesterday I mentioned that we had learned that there was an old Japanese Internment Camp just to the east of the town of Jerome.  So today we took a drive out to see what was there. 

Many years ago I read the book called “Manzanar” which is the name of a camp located in the California Mohave desert.  As it turned out, I worked at that time for a Japanese lady in Los Alamos who was born at one of these camps.  As a result I have always wanted to visit one of these camps to learn more about the lives these “American Citizens” and aliens were forced to endure as a result of their incarceration.  I know that my boss had some real resentment even though she was but a baby when her family left their camp.  After what I have seen and read, I can hardly blame these people for their feelings.  

My parents lived in San Francisco during the War, but I don’t ever recall hearing any comments made in our family about the Japanese people at this time even though there were many, many of them living in California at that time.  I realize that I was not old enough during the War to know about the “fears and prejudice” people had during that time, but I find it appalling today to think what our country forced these American Citizens to endure.

In February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which deprived 110,000 people of their freedom.  All were of Japanese ancestry with 2/3 American citizens and half children.  These “citizens” were required to close their businesses, shut down their farms, and pack their suitcases to board trains and buses to be taken first to detention centers and later to prisons.  For the remainder of the War they would lead bleak lives while remaining behind barbed wire far from their previous homes.   There were 10 such Camps all in the Western half of the U.S.  

This site here in Idaho is today called Minidoka National Historic Site and is located 10 miles out of the closest town and at the time of the internment was nothing but dry arid land; however, having a canal running through the area provided solace for these people from the Northwest part of the country (Oregon and Washington) where water was a part of their life.  

Sign found on Highway leading to the Camp

Canal running within the Camp property

13,000 people were imprisoned with a peak population in 1943 of 9,397.  While the eight guard towers at Minidoka were never completed or manned, barbed wire did surround the area giving the residents the feeling of prison. 

Right - recreated guard tower

Upper Left - Part of Military Police Building
Bottom - Guard Tower never completed or manned
Right - Reception Center 

This camp, like many others like it, were not completed when the families arrive and buildings consisted of 600 tar paper barracks crowded into 946 acres with thin walls that were not weather proof at a time when the weather was becoming the least inclement (winter was coming on).  More barracks, furniture and other necessities were soon built by the residents along with mess halls and other buildings.  The residents helped with a farm labor crisis in the area by planting and harvesting as well as planting crops within the facility to make it self sufficient.   

An Outline of the Camp Buildings

After the War, 19,000 Japanese American soldiers were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, many of whom had families living in these relocation camps.  Here at Minidoka, a Honor Roll plaque was erected with the names of the soldiers from Minidoka who served in many different branches of the military.  A lovely garden once stood in front of this plaque.  

Honor Roll Plaque

In 1945 a Supreme Court decision said that U.S. citizens could no longer be confined.  Minidoka closed on October 28, 1945 becoming a large ghost town as residents returned to their former homes, to different communities and rebuilt their lives and/or began new lives outside the confines of the Camp.  Many never talked about their time in these camps but as the years have passed many have opened up about their experiences.

Today this Minidoka has a building in the process of restoration for a Visitor Center.  The grounds are now a National Historic Site and there are many plaques, etc. telling the story about the Site and reminding us what can happen when other factors supercede the constitutional rights guaranteed to all citizens and aliens living in this country. Below are some of the buildings still in existence on the property. 

Picture of Warehouse Bldg. and Foundation of Such

Barracks Building

Left - Motor Repair & Tire Repair Building
Right - Storage Building

Top Left - Fire Station and Hermann House
Top Right - Barracks Buildings
Bottom - Baseball Field

A quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 sums it all up for me. “Americanism is a matter of mind and heart.  Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race and ancestry.”   Let us not forget this as we go forth with our lives today.

Signing off until tomorrow's activities