Executive order 9066
"Civilian Exclusion Order #5", 1942, Library of Congress
The great majority of persons with Japanese ancestry in this country was concentrated in the West Coast. About one-third of them were aliens, and the majority of the American-born in the younger age group. A significant amount of American-born were sent to Japan for their education, and many were regarded, by their reasons of training abroad, as highly dangerous.
-General Charles Fahy as he stands before the Supreme Court
"Pursuant to the provisions of Civilian Exclusion Order No. 33, this Headquarters, dated May 3, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated from the above area by 12 o’clock noon, P. W . T., Saturday, May 9, 1942." "...whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion." |
"It is difficult to describe the feeling of despair and humiliation experienced by all of us as we watched the Caucasians coming to look over our possessions and offering such nominal amounts, knowing we had no recourse but to accept whatever they were offering because we did not know what the future held for us." "We each had a suitcase, and so we filled it-and we didn't know whether we were going to be there for years or days or what..." |
"Then, we started getting calls that the FBI were picking up people. It took until that evening for my father to believe that there was actually a war. He told us, ‘Things would become difficult for us.’ So, we knew that life would change for us. When the Executive Order 9066 was posted, on February 19th, we were shocked how far the United States government had decided to go because it took out citizenships to call us, ‘aliens’ and we lost all our civil rights."
-Mary Murakami, former internee in a personal interview
"Dear Hana,
The times are all wrong we think, and I hope that it will not be too long before better days are in share for all of us. Although segregation will be parting our friendship, I hope you will continue on and make the most of your abilities and opportunities. It was my joy to have associated with a girl so kind, so intelligence, and with such charming personalities. Until our path crosses again, I wish you good fortune and good health. Till then.
Best Regards,
Paul Tisue"