Community members, staff, and legislators posed for a photo on Feb. 20 after watching the Washington State Legislature commemorate the Day of Remembrance honoring Japanese Americans. (Courtesy of WHD)
The Washington State Legislature joined together this month in observing the Day of Remembrance at the State Capitol.
Feb. 19, 2020 marked the 78th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forcible removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans into concentration camps along the West Coast.
“The story of Japanese Americans during WWII is a lesson for all Americans to learn from,” said state Sen. Bob Hasegawa. “My entire family, my entire community, was swept up in the war hysteria… So this story is a lesson for all of us to pay attention to so that it never happens again.”