The Truth Behind Japanese Internment Camps

Promptly, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America had joined World War II. Jolted by this horrible act, President Franklin Roosevelt had established Japanese Internment camps at the start of 1942. Through this Executive Order 9066, the U.S government had allowed anyone with Japanese descent to be isolated or relocated to those internment camps. Regardless of anyone’s citizenship, permanent housing and etc. All Japanese were despised for having Japan, the motherland country, attack America in Pearl Harbor.

With all the anti-japanese activity, many Japanese Americans had deliberately gone out their way to prove their loyalty to America. This was by enlisting in the war. World War II—as any other war, needed all the military personnel it can get. Thus, in great numbers, Japanese Americans served in the U.S armed forces. Approximately, “33,000 Japanese Americans served in the military during and immediately after WWII, about 18,000 in the 442nd and 6,000 Japanese Americans as part of the MIS” (Niiya). Though, it didn’t go by as easily. Segregated infantry outfit units were in place to put Japanese Americans. This was called the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team. Also the 100th Infantry Battalion with as many as 1,432 soldiers who consisted of many volunteers (Alex). The most twisted part of this was that those men fought the war abroad for a country, at the time, who loathed their descents. On top of that, most of these men’s families were kept in internment camps while they were fighting abroad.

This was due to all the paranoia and animosity America had felt towards the Japanese for bombing Pearl Harbor. Americans had believed that some Japanese Americans in America sided with Japan for the war. Because of these ideas being present in the American mind, racism towards the Japanese grew. Eventually leading up to the internment camps; which were basically like concentration camps. One awful case that occurred on August 4, 1942, had consisted of a riot in the Santa Anita Facility at Manzanar, California. The police there had sprayed tear gas on crowds to stop the riots. Even if there wasn’t a riot yet police feared for one, they’d spray tear gas. Some cases even went as far as killing people. In the Topaz Relocation Center, “a man was shot and killed by military police for going too near the perimeter”. Things like this occurred way too often.

Works Cited

Niiya, Brian. "Japanese Americans in military during World War II." Densho Encyclopedia. 13 June 2018, 14:41 PDT. 29 Oct 2018, 23:06