S-3733.1  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8036

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senators B. Sheldon, Shin, Carlson, Haugen, Sheahan, Spanel, Oke, Franklin, Rasmussen, Jacobsen, Eide, Winsley, Costa, T. Sheldon, Kastama, Thibaudeau, Gardner, Hale, Swecker, West, Prentice, McAuliffe, Kline, Fraser, Keiser, Johnson, Roach and Kohl‑Welles

Read first time 01/26/2002.  Referred to Committee on State & Local Government.

Requesting a memorial to remember the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

    TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, During World War II on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, setting in motion the forced exile of more than one hundred ten thousand Japanese-Americans from Washington, Oregon, and California; and

    WHEREAS, In Washington state, twelve thousand eight hundred ninety-two men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry - most of them United States citizens - experienced three years of unconstitutional internment, deprived of their rights granted under Amendment XIV of the United States Constitution to protect their life, liberty, and property through due process of law; and

    WHEREAS, On March 30, 1942, two hundred twenty-seven Bainbridge Island men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry - most of them United States citizens - were escorted by United States Army soldiers to the former Eagledale ferry landing where they solemnly boarded the ferry Kehloken and departed on a lonely journey with an unknown destination and fate; and

    WHEREAS, With only six days' notice they would be taken away and only allowed to bring whatever they could carry or wear, they were forced to hastily sell, store, or make arrangements for all of their possessions, businesses, and property; and

    WHEREAS, The two hundred twenty-seven people from Bainbridge Island were the first Japanese-Americans in United States history to be forcibly removed from their homes by the United States Army; and

    WHEREAS, Their only crime was being Nikkei - persons of Japanese ancestry; and

    WHEREAS, To commemorate this momentous and tragic event in United States history, the Bainbridge Island WWII Nikkei Exclusion Memorial Committee, a joint endeavor of the Bainbridge Island/North Kitsap Interfaith Council and the Bainbridge Island Japanese-American Community, is working with members of Washington state's federal delegation and appropriate federal authorities to designate the former Eagledale ferry landing as a national memorial; and

    WHEREAS, It is the vision and hope that the proposed national memorial will honor those who suffered, cherish the friends and community who stood beside them, and inspire all Americans to not repeat the mistakes of the past by safeguarding constitutional rights for all; and

    WHEREAS, The proposed national memorial could become an international treasure, attracting, informing, and inspiring people from around the world by telling an important and timeless story for future generations; and

    WHEREAS, It is vital that all Washington citizens remember and learn from this period of our nation's history;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress continue its worthy endeavor to designate the former Eagledale ferry landing on Bainbridge Island as a national memorial to remember the unconstitutional internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II;

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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