Japanese community members pay honor Day of Remembrance
Legislators commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 in Olympia which was acknowledged on Feb. 23. The order was a wartime measure that sent 120,000 Japanese-Americans to concentration camps. A Senate Resolution honoring what is now called the Day of Remembrance, was offered by Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Beacon Hill.
“My whole family was sent to American concentration camps after Executive Order 9006 was signed by President Roosevelt,” Hasegawa said.
The Northwest had several camps and “assembly centers” where families were held before being moved, including a facility on what is now the Puyallup Fairgrounds.
Nearly a hundred members of the Japanese-American community from across Washington came to the Capitol in honor of the day, including survivors of the camps, Nisei World War II Veterans and Boy Scout Troop 252 who presented the colors prior to opening ceremony. (end)