WHEREAS, On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued Executive Order 9066 which authorized the military to forcibly
remove and incarcerate more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry
from the West Coast, including 12,000 Japanese-American residents of
Washington State; and
WHEREAS, The first Civilian Evacuation Order gave Japanese-Americans from Bainbridge Island less than one week to leave behind
homes, farms, businesses, friends, and family to report to hastily
constructed detention centers like Camp Harmony on the grounds of the
Western Washington Fair in Puyallup; and
WHEREAS, This drastic course of action allegedly aimed to prevent
acts of espionage and sabotage by Japanese-Americans who were deemed
untrustworthy and disloyal to the United States; and
WHEREAS, On March 23, 1943, the War Department organized a
segregated unit of Japanese-Americans, many of whom reported for
military duty from concentration camps surrounded by barbed wire in
which they and their families were detained; and
WHEREAS, More than 12,000 volunteers responded to questions of
their loyalty and patriotism by amassing a battle record unparalleled
in U.S. military history including: Seven Presidential Unit Citations;
21 Medals of Honor; 29 Distinguished Service Crosses; 1 Distinguished
Service Medal; 588 Silver Stars; more than 4,000 Bronze Stars; 22
Legion of Merit Medals; 15 Soldier's Medals; 9,486 Purple Hearts; 16
decorations from France and Italy; and a Congressional Gold Medal
awarded collectively to the 442nd Regimental Combat Unit, the 100th
Infantry Battalion, and the Military Intelligence Service, United
States Army; and
WHEREAS, Equally loyal and patriotic Japanese-Americans fought to
protect our constitutional rights and liberties through dissent, like
University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi who was arrested,
convicted, and imprisoned for defying the military curfew on select
civilians and refusing to evacuate when ordered; and
WHEREAS, In 1982, the Congressional Commission on Wartime
Relocation and Internment of Civilians found "no military or security
reason for the internment" of persons of Japanese ancestry, but
determined it "was caused by racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a
failure of political leadership"; and
WHEREAS, As a result of this travesty of justice, Japanese-Americans suffered immense economic loss of property and assets,
immeasurable physical and psychological harm, and were deprived of
their constitutional liberties without due process of law; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, newly elected Congressman Mike Lowry of
Washington State introduced H.R. 5977 to provide reparations and an
apology to former Japanese-American internees, thus initiating a ten-year legislative quest that ended when President Ronald Reagan signed
the Civil Liberties Act of 1988; and
WHEREAS, Five years earlier, the Washington State Legislature
enacted and Governor John Spellman signed similar legislation sponsored
by State Senators George Fleming, Jack Jones, Jim McDermott, Kent
Pullen, and Phil Talmadge to provide token compensatory redress to
forty state workers who lost their jobs due to the wartime
incarceration of Japanese-Americans; and
WHEREAS, Throughout Washington State, Japanese-American survivors
of the European and Asian battlefields of World War II and of American
concentration camps live their golden years quietly, in unassuming
contrast to their extraordinary acts of patriotism and valor;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives,
along with the people of Washington, pause to acknowledge the seventy-second anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, to recognize
and honor the heroism, sacrifice, patience, and loyalty of the
Japanese-American World War II veterans and internees, and to remember
the lessons and blessing of liberty and justice for all; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be
immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives to the Nisei Veterans Committee, the Military
Intelligence Service – Northwest Association, the Japanese American
Citizens League, the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington
State, and the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American
Experience.