Assembly Center facilities were inadequate for
large families. An older child prepares these four
boys for a nap in a single bed.
large families. An older child prepares these four
boys for a nap in a single bed.
ASSEMBLY CENTERS: A Rude Awakening
Unprepared for the mass removal of 120,000 men, women, and children, the U.S.
Government looked for large sites that could be converted to secured facilities.
Seventeen makeshift enclosures, which became known as "assembly centers,"
were converted from racetracks and fairgrounds.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942,
authorizing the military to designate "military zones," General John L. DeWitt
subsequently issued "Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry" (above, right)
on March 2, 1942. The instructions, posted in prominent places throughout the
Japanese American community, indicated where and when the Issei and Nisei were
to report with their belongings.
Evacuees from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties were sent to
Pomona, Santa Anita and other locations, where they faced a cadre of soldiers as
they arrived. At Santa Anita and other racetrack-type facilities, evacuees slept in
empty horse stalls when they first arrived.
The Pomona site consisted of over 300 barracks and held a maximum population of
5,434, most of whom were later sent to more permanent facilities in Heart Mountain.
Some evacuees from Santa Anita, Pinedale, Puyallup and Portland assembly centers
also went to Heart Mountain.
The evacuees stayed in the assembly centers for three to four months until more
permanent camps were established by the War Relocation Authority.
Today, the barracks area of the Pomona assembly center is used as the midway for
fairs and other events and for parking.
Unprepared for the mass removal of 120,000 men, women, and children, the U.S.
Government looked for large sites that could be converted to secured facilities.
Seventeen makeshift enclosures, which became known as "assembly centers,"
were converted from racetracks and fairgrounds.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942,
authorizing the military to designate "military zones," General John L. DeWitt
subsequently issued "Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry" (above, right)
on March 2, 1942. The instructions, posted in prominent places throughout the
Japanese American community, indicated where and when the Issei and Nisei were
to report with their belongings.
Evacuees from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties were sent to
Pomona, Santa Anita and other locations, where they faced a cadre of soldiers as
they arrived. At Santa Anita and other racetrack-type facilities, evacuees slept in
empty horse stalls when they first arrived.
The Pomona site consisted of over 300 barracks and held a maximum population of
5,434, most of whom were later sent to more permanent facilities in Heart Mountain.
Some evacuees from Santa Anita, Pinedale, Puyallup and Portland assembly centers
also went to Heart Mountain.
The evacuees stayed in the assembly centers for three to four months until more
permanent camps were established by the War Relocation Authority.
Today, the barracks area of the Pomona assembly center is used as the midway for
fairs and other events and for parking.
It didn't take long for the evacuees to establish a newspaper, the Pomona Center News. The staff is
shown here in a group photo. Among them is artist Estelle Ishigo (seated, second from right), who
chose to be evacuated with her husband even though, as a Caucasian, she could have remained free.
--PHOTO BY CLEM ALBERS
shown here in a group photo. Among them is artist Estelle Ishigo (seated, second from right), who
chose to be evacuated with her husband even though, as a Caucasian, she could have remained free.
--PHOTO BY CLEM ALBERS
Mess hall at Portland Assembly Center is shown
shortly before dinner.
shortly before dinner.
Pomona Assembly Center is shown as construction continues on temporary barracks.
Workers finish the fourth wall of a barracks at
Pomona Fairgrounds.
Pomona Fairgrounds.
An evacuee is shown inside a converted horse stall
in Santa Anita.
in Santa Anita.
HEART MOUNTAIN WYOMING FOUNDATION
| Photos left to right: (1) A sign in a Los Angeles store window urges customers to pick up their dry cleaning before it's too late, warning, "We won't take it to Owens Valley for you;" (2) Soldiers line up as evacuees arrive at Santa Anita; (3) Officials check IDs and search arriving Japanese; and (4) the military exclusion order is posted in San Francisco on April 1, 1942. |
Forced Removal
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