House OKs saving WWII camps

WASHINGTON – Congress completed action Tuesday on legislation to preserve and protect the remnants of one of the darkest chapters in American history: the internment camps and gathering centers that were used in the roundup and forced detention of Japanese American citizens during World War II.

The voice vote in the House of Representatives came two days short of the 65th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. That tragedy stirred such fear and anger in the United States that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 three months later, ordering the roundup. The Supreme Court later upheld the directive on the grounds of “pressing public necessity.”

Congress issued a formal apology in 1988 and offered $20,000 apiece in compensation to the survivors of the camps, who lost their freedom and property without any formal legal proceedings. Lesser numbers of Alaska Natives, Germans and Italians also were ordered detained.

Ten relocation centers were built to house them, and two – Minidoka (in south central Idaho) and Manzanar – have been turned over to the National Park Service. With money from the legislation, what remains of the others can be restored and operated by local sponsors to keep the memory of the camps alive. President Bush is expected to sign the bill.

“By preserving these sites we will be demonstrating our commitment to equal treatment under the law,” said Rep. Michael Honda, D-Calif., who spent time as a child in the Grenada War Relocation Center near Amache, Colo.

The legislation authorizes up to $38 million in federal grants to help preserve the camps and gathering centers. The money must be matched by local communities. It can be used to buy land, restore what remains of the centers and construct interpretive centers.

An estimated 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were rounded up under the executive order. Almost two-thirds of them were U.S. citizens. Many never recovered their confiscated property.