Sierra Loop - Manzanar National Historic Site - Saturday, September 8, 2018

Waning Crescent Moon

The Manzanar National Historic Site is a few minutes north of Lone Pine, CA on U.S. 395. It features a large Visitor Center, some rebuilt historic buildings, and the remnants of the Owens Valley Reception Center, aka the Manzanar Relocation Center, which from 1942 to 1945 served as an internment facility for Japanese Americans during World War II. "Internment facility" is a euphemism for concentration camp. More than 110,000 American citizens of Japanese descent were housed here. There were nine other such sites in America during those years.

War Detention Center was another name for it.

I arrived before the Visitor Center opened, but luckily, I had the Auto Tour Route to myself. The original barracks and other buildings are long gone, but signs and foundations tell you where they used to be and there are several spots where you can get out and walk. I was humbled and sad and deeply moved by my solo experience at this site.

Guard shack.

Owens Valley sits in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada. It is a frighteningly hot desert in summer and when the snow flies in the mountains, it can get bone-numbing cold. This is a climate only a coyote or a badger can love. Fierce wind and dust storms are frequent.  No one in their right mind would try to escape on foot without food, water, and an excellent plan to be whisked away in a vehicle or on horseback.

Watchtower.

The last prisoners left in 1945. The mother of one of my teaching colleagues was one of these. Several residents of my home town are either former incarcerees or their descendants. Just as a person who has never been in combat can never really understand what a veteran experienced in war, one who has not been imprisoned in their own country, a country of immigrants whose ancestors displaced millions of indigenous natives to claim it as their own, can ever know the feelings of the residents of Manzanar. Visiting these grounds on a quiet morning, walking through the remains of gardens and barracks and infirmaries, might be as close as you can get. If you are not at least sobered by the experience, you have no heart.

Pleasure Park

It was so amazing how people worked together and built structures from scratch to preserve their personal dignity and capture the beauty of the natural surroundings.

Bridge over what was surface water at the time in Pleasure park.

The cemetery at the rear of the property is still maintained in honor of those who died while incarcerated. 

I have no words.

Over the course of my life I have had the pleasure of a few long friendships with Japanese American men and women. One gentleman in particular with whom I worked for several years impressed upon me the value and beauty of service to the community in which I was employed. His unwavering kindness and respect for himself and for others motivates me to this day. My dear friend Al Tanabe is gone now. I will never forget the quiet joy with which he worked. No complaints. Just quiet joy.

Peace, Love, and No More War,

Jim

TBC