Customer Reviews

Amache: The Story of Japanese Internment in Colorado during World War II

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On the "day of infamy," when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, I was 8 years old. I was born of a poor family, who lived in the sparsely populated area of southeastern Colorado, with no access to immediate world news. Thus, it was bewildering why all my 3d grade Caucasian classmates were whispering and staring at me after I had entered the classroom that day.

It wasn't long after that day, when many Japanese families relocated from the west coast to Colorado and other inland states. Their so-called voluntary relocation was followed by forced relocation (imprisonment) of those Japanese who remained on the west coast. They were sent to several camps in the interior states. Amache was a hastily built camp near the small town of Granada in the southeastern corner of Colorado.

By war's end, in 1945, the imprisonmnet of the west coast Japanese into inland territory, I had thought, was common knowledge. Yet, as I grew older, even 30 or 40 years later, I found that many Americans were ignorant of this event in American history. Now, 60 years later, there are those who would deny the shame hanging over the imprisonment of Issei and Nisei. Instead, they would call it simply "relocation for their safety." They would justify the act, pointing to the camps as safe havens away from possible physical harm that might have been committed against them by racist Americans along the coast. Furthermore, they would say that "suspicious" characters would have been prohibitied, by their incarceration, from perpetrating "possible" traitorous acts.

Finally, a man of truth and integrity, Robert Harvey, has written a well researched history and analysis of the shameful conduct displayed by a segment of the American populace during WW2. He has not relied solely on interviews and opinions. Rather, he has documented the evidence of hysteria displayed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Unwarranted, hateful statements were made by American citizens, including well-known figures such as: General John DeWitt; Hearst newspaper columnist, Henry McLemore; national syndicated columnist, Walter Lippmann; and CA attorney general - the future Supreme Court Justice - Earl Warren.

Prominent leaders showed poor judgment and prejudice in their decisions to remove the "Japs" from western states. Pressed on by these influential people, President Roosevelt, who did not question the leaders' prejudices, signed executive order #9066, which cleared the way for mandatory evacuation of all Japanese living along the western coast.

Harvey describes in detail the evacuation process. He notes the Nisei and Issei's losses: their personal property as well as their dignity and freedom. Harvey centers his history on the camp at Amache. He describes the features of camp construction, its maintenance, the atmosphere of living quarters and surrounding habitat, and life as it existed in the camp.

Harvey maintains a balance in his assessment of America's attitude toward the Nisei and Issei. In fairness, he has cited the thoughtful actions by kinder souls. Eleanor Roosevelt publicly spoke in defense of the Nisei and Issei. Colorado Governor Ralph Carr risked his career by welcoming the Japanese to his state. Some Caucasians in CA remained faithful to Japanese friends and helped maintain some of their property in CA during their incarceration.

Harvey takes the reader through the hard times and some good times at Camp Amache. He notes the loyalty to America felt by Japanese Americans. He revives the memory of those brave and loyal Nisei who volunteered and served in the 442d - one of the most decorated units in WW2 history. "The 442d suffered the highest percentage of casualties for a team of its size."

Harvey writes about the dignity and respect eventually earned by Japanese Americans. He quotes former internees. Some have bitter memories and residual resentments. But all, once bowed and shamed by their incarceration, are now proud survivors, and proud to call themselves Americans.

Wisely and conclusively, Harvey reminds us all - Americans and all of humanity - that "Amache does not remain in our memory to open old wounds, but to stop such wounds from being repeated."

I give the book 3 stars for literary merit, 4 stars for content, and 5 stars for "heart." I urge every person of every age to read the book.

I belong to a reading group and the book we chose to read was "The Magic of Ordinary Days". The story took place near the internment camp of Amache. Because I knew only a little history of internment camps, I wanted to find out more. After searching, I came up with the "Amache" book. It was easy to read and I had a difficult time putting it down. It explained much about the various reasons for moving the Japanese (and not only because we felt threatened). Why, I wonder, is none of this in the history books? Is it because we were ashamed of what we had done to those families? It is, whether we like it or not, part of our history and should not be swept under the rug and forgotten. I learned much from the reading of this book and thank the author for his research and dedication.

I would never say that the violation of the rights of the Japanese was at all supportable, but the author fails to take a well-rounded view of this particular camp, the local politics and politicians and a comparison of life situations of the local residents and the internees.

In this particular situation and this camp, some of the more subtle issues are either glossed over or not touched on at all.

I was offended by this book. I had hoped for a full story from all points of view.