PAINFUL LESSONS
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PAGE 9
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The location of the memorial is adjacent to the Hult Center which was built on the site of the 34 W. Sixth Avenue building used in 1942 to register Japanese-Americans in Lane and surrounding counties for their forced journey from their homes. The memorial was dedicated on February 19, 2007, the sixty-fifth anniversary of the president’s signing of Executive Order 9066.
The memorial consists of three plaques mounted on large stones, entitled Justice, Honor and Perseverance. The first presents information on the legal battle against the internment and features Min Yasui amongst others who challenged the legal basis for the internment. The second features an unnamed soldier representing the heroic efforts of all those who volunteered from the internment camps to fight for freedoms the U.S. had taken from them. And the last contains a family behind barbed wire in one of the camps, overseen by a sentry in a watchtower, representing the tens of thousands of families who gave up nearly all they had for years and began new lives after the end of the war.
At the center of the memorial stands a statue of a young girl sitting atop a pile of suitcases, tagged with an identification number around her neck as many children were during their relocation. She is reaching out to a butterfly, a symbol of return, as she waits for the trains that will take her to the camps. The girl’s image is based on photographs donated of Michi Yasui Ando, the same young lady who waited near the train tracks in Eugene. She, like a dozen other students at the University of Oregon, were Eugene’s loss to the internment, as they all were forced to flee Eugene to avoid being interned. Michi eventually settled in Denver.
Each of them is here recognized: Harry Fukuda, Mary Furusho, Thomas Hayachi, Harold Kay Ito, Grace I. Kamazawa, Alice Kawasaki, Makoto McKinley Iwashita, Samuel Teruhide Naito, Kenzo Nakagawa, Tad Osaki, Lawrence Fumio Takei, Michi Yasui, Shu Yasui, and George Shingo Uchiyama.
It was hoped that Michi Yasui Ando would attend the dedication of the memorial next year, but as with many who were interned, time in an ever looming threat to their being properly honored. Michi passed away in February, 2006, after a battle against cancer.
Eventually, each of those interned will also pass into history, their stories and experiences remembered in how we chose to commemorate them. This memorial invites all who visit to consider how we can prevent mistakes like the Japanese American internment from ever happening again.
The memorial consists of three plaques mounted on large stones, entitled Justice, Honor and Perseverance. The first presents information on the legal battle against the internment and features Min Yasui amongst others who challenged the legal basis for the internment. The second features an unnamed soldier representing the heroic efforts of all those who volunteered from the internment camps to fight for freedoms the U.S. had taken from them. And the last contains a family behind barbed wire in one of the camps, overseen by a sentry in a watchtower, representing the tens of thousands of families who gave up nearly all they had for years and began new lives after the end of the war.
At the center of the memorial stands a statue of a young girl sitting atop a pile of suitcases, tagged with an identification number around her neck as many children were during their relocation. She is reaching out to a butterfly, a symbol of return, as she waits for the trains that will take her to the camps. The girl’s image is based on photographs donated of Michi Yasui Ando, the same young lady who waited near the train tracks in Eugene. She, like a dozen other students at the University of Oregon, were Eugene’s loss to the internment, as they all were forced to flee Eugene to avoid being interned. Michi eventually settled in Denver.
Each of them is here recognized: Harry Fukuda, Mary Furusho, Thomas Hayachi, Harold Kay Ito, Grace I. Kamazawa, Alice Kawasaki, Makoto McKinley Iwashita, Samuel Teruhide Naito, Kenzo Nakagawa, Tad Osaki, Lawrence Fumio Takei, Michi Yasui, Shu Yasui, and George Shingo Uchiyama.
It was hoped that Michi Yasui Ando would attend the dedication of the memorial next year, but as with many who were interned, time in an ever looming threat to their being properly honored. Michi passed away in February, 2006, after a battle against cancer.
Eventually, each of those interned will also pass into history, their stories and experiences remembered in how we chose to commemorate them. This memorial invites all who visit to consider how we can prevent mistakes like the Japanese American internment from ever happening again.