Five Americans of Japanese descent who were forcibly removed from their homes 71 years ago and sent to live in internment camps shared their stories during the annual Day of Remembrance at the History Colorado Center.
“They looked at us as if we had no allegiance to real Americans — it was in our blood; never mind if we were American citizens by birth,” said Rose Tanaka, who was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California at the age of 15. “All of a sudden, I felt the hatred from other Americans against us.”
The event — hosted by the Mile High chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) — was held near the anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, which paved the way for the mass imprisonment.
Camp Amache, located about a mile west of Granada, was one of the 10 internment camps.
When more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans were forced out of their homes, they had to leave behind nearly everything.
“We were told to leave our homes, farms and businesses. You couldn’t bring a bunch with you,” said Bob Fuchigami, who lived at Camp Amache.
The Feb. 17 gathering, which drew a crowd of more than 200, aimed to shed more light on the rarely discussed topic, said JACL board member Mark Shimoda.
“Today’s program is oriented to bend the silence,” Shimoda said.
