[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 152 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H10321-H10326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORIC CONFINEMENT SITES WHERE 
          JAPANESE AMERICANS WERE DETAINED DURING WORLD WAR II

  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1492) to provide for the preservation of the historic 
confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World 
War II, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1492

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC CONFINEMENT SITES.

       (a) Preservation Program.--The Secretary shall create a 
     program within the National Park Service to encourage, 
     support, recognize, and work in partnership with citizens, 
     Federal agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, other 
     public entities, educational institutions, and private 
     nonprofit organizations for the purpose of identifying, 
     researching, evaluating, interpreting, protecting, restoring, 
     repairing, and acquiring historic confinement sites in order 
     that present and future generations may learn and gain 
     inspiration from these sites and that these sites will 
     demonstrate the Nation's commitment to equal justice under 
     the law.
       (b) Grants.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
     Japanese American National Heritage Coalition, shall make 
     grants to State, local, and tribal governments, other public 
     entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit 
     organizations to assist in carrying out subsection (a).
       (c) Property Acquisition.--
       (1) Authority.--Federal funds made available under this 
     section may be used to acquire non-Federal property for the 
     purposes of this section, in accordance with section 3, only 
     if that property is within the areas described in paragraph 
     (2).
       (2) Property descriptions.--The property referred to in 
     paragraph (2) is the following:
       (A) Jerome, depicted in Figure 7.1 of the Site Document.
       (B) Rohwer, depicted in Figure 11.2 of the Site Document.
       (C) Topaz, depicted in Figure 12.2 of the Site Document.
       (D) Honouliuli, located on the southern part of the Island 
     of Oahu, Hawaii, and within the land area bounded by H1 to 
     the south, Route 750 (Kunia Road) to the east, the Honouliuli 
     Forest Reserve to the west, and Kunia town and Schofield 
     Barracks to the north.
       (3) No effect on private property.--The authority granted 
     in this subsection shall not constitute a Federal designation 
     or have any effect on private property ownership.
       (d) Matching Fund Requirement.--The Secretary shall require 
     a 25 percent non-Federal match for funds provided under this 
     section.
       (e) Sunset of Authority.--This Act shall have no force or 
     effect on and after the date that is 2 years after the 
     disbursement to grantees under this section of the total 
     amount of funds authorized to be appropriated under section 
     4.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this Act the following definitions apply:
       (1) Historic confinement sites.--(A) The term ``historic 
     confinement sites'' means the 10 internment camp sites 
     referred to as Gila River, Granada, Heart Mountain, Jerome, 
     Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake and 
     depicted in Figures 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 8.4, 9.2, 10.6, 11.2, 
     12.2, and 13.2, respectively, of the Site Document; and
       (B) other historically significant locations, as determined 
     by the Secretary, where Japanese Americans were detained 
     during World War II.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (3) Site document.--The term ``Site Document'' means the 
     document titled ``Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of 
     World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites'', published 
     by the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, 
     National Park Service, in 1999.

     SEC. 3. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

       No Federal funds made available to carry out this Act may 
     be used to acquire any real property or any interest in any 
     real property without the written consent of the owner or 
     owners of that property or interest in property.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
     $38,000,000 to carry out this Act. Such sums shall remain 
     available until expended.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1492, introduced by the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Thomas), would establish a grant program within the Department of 
the Interior to protect, preserve, and interpret historic confinement 
sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
  While there are two units in the National Park System that recognize 
the internment period, Manzanar National Historic Site and Minidoka 
Internment National Monument, there are many who believe other 
internment sites should also be preserved short of becoming a unit of 
the National Park System.
  This bill would further that purpose by providing Federal funds with 
a partial private match. I urge adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, while the temptation to sweep this shameful 
chapter of American history under the rug is powerful, we must resist 
that urge.
  The pending legislation will, we hope, prevent future discrimination 
against groups of Americans based on race, ethnicity, or religious 
belief by preserving and interpreting a dark chapter in American 
history when our actions fell far short of our ideals.
  Mr. Speaker, it is sobering to realize that the internment of 
Japanese Americans did not take place in some far distant past history. 
Rather, the horror of internment camps are real for many Americans, 
among them a very good friend and colleague of ours and now the 
Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Norm Mineta.
  After he and his family were forced from their home and interned, 
Secretary Mineta devoted his life to serving the country which had 
treated him so shamefully to ensure that such injustice will never be 
repeated.
  Secretary Mineta overcame the labels placed on him as a child and 
went on to carry labels including soldier, city councilman, mayor, 
Congressman, Mr. Chairman, and now Mr. Secretary. Throughout this 
distinguished career, he was often the first Asian American to hold 
those titles.
  Another great American victimized by internment was our friend and 
former colleague, the late Bob Matsui. Like Norm Mineta and many 
others, Bob Matsui overcame injustice and adversity suffered as a child 
to build a career of distinguished public service.
  His widow and dear colleague of ours today will be heard from in just 
a moment. While he might have been forgiven for being bitter or angry, 
Bob Matsui was universally praised as one

[[Page H10322]]

of the most diplomatic and cordial Members of this body.
  He took his experiences as a child and turned them into a passion for 
serving the young, the sick and the elderly, those most at risk for 
uncaring treatment by government.
  Representative Matsui's life work has been taken up by his wife, 
Representative Doris Matsui. She, along with Representative Mike Honda, 
has worked tirelessly to bring this measure to the floor; and they are 
to be commended for their efforts.
  This legislation is not only a tribute to those who suffered the 
injustice of internment but also to the triumphs of these distinguished 
former colleagues. We urge support for H.R. 1492 in their names and in 
the names of all of those who have faced or continue to face injustice.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas).
  (Mr. THOMAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to finally bring this bill 
to the floor because it puts a closing note on what was to a very great 
extent my upbringing in California with personal friends through the 
40s and the 50s. In addition to that, I had the honor and pleasure of 
serving in the California Assembly with Floyd Mori.
  As was mentioned by the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), 
Norm Mineta and Bob Matsui, and Floyd were Nisei, American born, first 
generation. Their parents are known as Issei, those who came over from 
Japan. Their grandchildren are Sansei. And it does mark a period in our 
history where native-born American citizens were in essence rounded up.
  I got to know it personally, but as I went through school and I went 
through constitutional law classes and looked at Korematsu v. United 
States, I realized that the majority's opinion in Korematsu was written 
by Justice Hugo Black, who is known probably as one of the premier 
First Amendment-freedom Justices on the Court; and it underscored the 
extent that this concept permeated American society.
  I am very, very grateful to the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) 
and his committee that voted this bill out unanimously, notwithstanding 
the fact that we have created a separate fund which will help pay for, 
in a public-private match, to preserve what is rapidly slipping away 
since these internment camps were for obvious reasons in rural areas 
across mostly western United States. I am most familiar with Manzanar 
which is in Inyo County, and I have represented Inyo County for more 
than a decade in the Congress. And we were able to preserve that in a 
location fairly close to Southern California.
  But in working with my friend and former colleague, Floyd Mori, in 
looking at where these locations are in Utah, Wyoming, other States, we 
realized that just the ongoing growth and partial urbanization of these 
areas would forever cover up these particular sites.
  It is not so much that I think people are ashamed of them. I think 
they are principally ignorant of them. And whether it is desire to 
forget out of knowledge or ignorance, neither one is acceptable. So I 
am very pleased that Leadership has allowed us to move today a very 
modest approach, quite rightly unifying public and private where 
appropriate under what circumstances, working with those people who are 
in the area, and in some instances Indian tribes, to allow those who 
are still alive and have memories to pass them on to the young ones. 
And for those of us who take trips across the country to visit sites, 
there are several different reasons, but probably first and foremost is 
that great people, and I believe Americans are great people, can make 
mistakes. What you need to do is admit it and remember it and do not 
make it again. And for that reason it is very fulfilling that this bill 
is before us.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1492. I greatly appreciate the 
House's consideration of this important legislation as well as the 
assistance Chairman Pombo, Representatives Doris Matsui, Mike Honda, 
and Devin Nunes have provided to develop it and bring it to the floor 
today.
  Very simply, this legislation is a modest effort to provide the 
structure and resources necessary for citizens, schools, communities, 
and others to undertake projects in order to preserve and interpret an 
aspect of American history that many, quite frankly, would much prefer 
to ignore or never know. Nations, as do people, have the opportunity to 
recognize their mistakes and use the lessons learned from those 
mistakes to improve themselves. However, to do so, the mistake must not 
only be recognized, the lesson must be learned and remembered.
  The United States of America has recognized the terrible mistake it 
made between 1942 and 1945, when pursuant to Executive Order 9066, over 
120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and 
detained in government assembly and then relocation centers. Moreover, 
this mistake taught the United States that racial prejudice and wartime 
hysteria do not justify the denial of human dignity and the fundamental 
freedoms afforded by the U.S. Constitution. Thus, the legislation 
before the House today is designed to help ensure the United States 
and, more importantly, its citizens, never forget the lesson learned 
from this mistake.
  Those who do not know the facts of this aspect of American history 
are undoubtedly quite surprised to learn that the U.S. Government, 
while rightly fighting to preserve freedom throughout the world, on 
March 2, 1942, wrongly declared over 100 areas in the States of 
Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington as ``prohibited areas'' to 
those of Japanese ancestry. While thousands of people voluntarily moved 
out of these prohibited areas, thousands more who wanted to voluntarily 
leave the prohibited areas could not, either because their assets had 
been frozen at the beginning of the war or because other States were 
unwilling to accept them as residents.
  On March 24, 1942, the U.S. Army began to evacuate residents of the 
prohibited areas; the evacuees included newborns, children, even those 
who had been adopted by non-Japanese parents, and the elderly. Sadly, 
those being evacuated were given just 6 days notice and, as they could 
only take those items the family could carry, were forced to dispose of 
nearly all of their possessions, often for ridiculously small sums. In 
addition, and of particular importance in California, people were not 
given the opportunity to harvest their crops; in fact, the only act of 
``sabotage'' by a Japanese-American occurred when a farmer plowed his 
strawberry crop under when his request for the opportunity to harvest 
it was denied.
  As they waited to be transported to one of 10 ``relocation centers,'' 
the evacuees were temporarily housed in 17 assembly centers in Arizona, 
California, Oregon, and Washington, 12 of which were in California. One 
of those 12 was located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds in Tulare, CA, 
which I formerly represented. The assembly centers were surrounded by 
barbed wire fences, which were patrolled by military police, and 
consisted of hastily constructed military barracks, with separate 
communal bathrooms and dining halls. However, thousands of people, 
including 8,500 at Santa Anita alone, lived in horse stables at the 
Santa Anita and Tanforan assembly centers in California.
  By the end of October, the evacuees were moved by train into one of 
the following 10 relocation centers or internment sites: Jerome and 
Rohwer in Arkansas; Colorado River--Poston--and Gila River in Arizona; 
Tule Lake and Manzanar in California; Granada in Colorado; Minidoka in 
Idaho; Heart Mountain in Wyoming; and Central Utah--Topaz. Like the 
assembly centers, the relocation centers were surrounded by barbed wire 
fences but also had guard towers. The centers were designed to be self-
contained and self-sustaining communities, and like the assembly 
centers, they primarily featured barracks-type housing. In addition, 
the relocation centers were dusty, muddy, and often subject to extreme 
temperatures. Finally, the use of the Japanese language was restricted.

  In December 1944, the U.S. Government announced the relocation 
centers would be closed within a year. While nine closed before the end 
of 1945, Tule Lake was not closed until May 1946 because it continued 
to hold those who had renounced their U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately 
but not surprisingly, the Government provided only minimal assistance 
to those who it had wrongfully detained as they left the centers to 
rebuild their lives.
  As I have stated, the U.S. Government has admitted its mistake in 
this instance. It has sought to make some degree of recompense to those 
evacuated by paying reparations and issuing a formal apology; a 
memorial has been constructed in Washington, DC, within sight of the 
Capitol. In addition, six of the relocation centers are listed on the 
National Register, Manzanar and the cemetery at Rowher are National 
Historic Landmarks, and Minidoka is a National Monument. As a result of 
legislation--P.L. 102-248-- I cosponsored and

[[Page H10323]]

worked with my former colleague Representative Mel Levine to enact, 
Manzanar, which I formerly represented, has been established as a 
National Historic Site. With regard to the assembly centers, seven, 
including the one in Tulare, do not have some form of marker or plaque 
to remind future generations of our past wrong.
  While the legislation before the House today certainly is designed to 
authorize the funding necessary to facilitate projects that involve 
bricks and mortar--for example, the construction of a museum at Granada 
or the stabilization of a hospital chimney at Heart Mountain--its 
intent is not to completely reconstruct or restore the infrastructure 
at every relocation site or assembly center for the sake of show and 
tell. Rather, the legislation is designed to be as flexible as possible 
in recognition of the wide differences in the current conditions at the 
pertinent sites of historic significance, as well as to allow for 
grantees to conduct a wide variety of projects in many different forms 
to ensure the lesson taught by the sites is preserved forever. For 
instance, a project could be as simple as a citizens' group buying and 
placing a plaque on a stable; another could involve an effort by 
students to collect, preserve, and interpret the memories of surviving 
evacuees, a generation we are rapidly losing.
  This flexibility is necessary and recognizes that the only common 
thread that binds the sites related to the confinement of Japanese-
Americans is Executive Order 9066. As with each of the 50 States, which 
are bound together by the U.S. Constitution, each of the sites has its 
own unique history and characteristics. Thus, the preservation projects 
needed that would be undertaken with monies authorized under H.R. 1492 
necessarily must be unique to the individual sites.
  The legislation provides the U.S. Secretary of the Interior with the 
flexibility to approve projects related to sites other than the 10 
relocation and 17 assembly centers. An example of such a site is the 
Crystal City World War II Alien Family Internment Camp in Texas, which 
was run by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and which 
housed Japanese immigrants and nationals sent to the United States from 
Latin America.
  It is important to note that, upon request, I have included 
limitations in this legislation. Specifically, the legislation contains 
a 25 percent non-Federal match requirement, a cap on the amount of 
monies authorized, and a sunset. The legislation also limits the use of 
these Federal funds to acquire private property to just four 
locations--Jerome, Rohwer, Topaz, and Honouliuli--and further requires 
the written consent of the pertinent private property owners.
  Finally, it is fitting that we are considering this legislation as we 
return from observing Veterans Day as the segregated Japanese-American 
100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which had a 
total of 25,000 men during the war, together became the most decorated 
combat unit for its size in U.S. history. In fact, the men who served 
in this unit were awarded 8 presidential unit citations, 9,486 Purple 
Hearts, and 18,143 individual decorations, including 52 Distinguished 
Service Crosses, the second-highest award for valor. Moreover, the only 
Japanese-American World War II veteran awarded the Medal of Honor 
during the war, PFC Sadao Munemori, earned his citation on April 5, 
1945, when he dove on a hand grenade to save the lives of two of his 
comrades during the Po Valley Campaign in Italy. Poignantly, at the 
time of his death, Munemori's mother and brother were interned at 
Manzanar.
  Accordingly, I now ask that you join with me to pass this important 
legislation, not just to honor Private First Class Munemori, not just 
to honor those interned, but to ensure that the United States does not 
forget and repeat the grievous mistake it made.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to our 
dear and, in every sense of the word, distinguished colleague from 
California (Ms. Matsui).
  (Ms. MATSUI asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from West Virginia for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, history plays a significant role in this country. Not 
only does it influence and inform our decisions today, but it clearly 
shows the successes and failures of this Nation to ensure every citizen 
is protected under the Constitution.
  Sixty years ago, Executive Order 9066 permitted the Federal 
Government to uproot 120,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry 
from their homes and their communities, forcibly interning them in one 
of several camps across the western United States. This included my 
husband, Bob, who was at that time just an infant, and his family. They 
were held a short time at Tule Lake in California before being sent to 
Caldwell, Idaho. After being expelled from their community, my parents 
met at the internment camp in Poston, Arizona, where I was born at the 
end of World War II.
  It was one of the greatest suspensions of liberty in our Nation's 
history, an avoidable consequence of racial prejudice and wartime 
hysteria.

                              {time}  1230

  These camps are the physical, tangible, representation of our 
government's failure to protect the constitutional right of every 
American. However, they are also a symbol of this Nation's ability to 
recognize and acknowledge our mistakes.
  For both of these reasons, it is essential that the internment camps 
and sites be preserved and maintained. In protecting them, we are 
reaffirming our belief in the Constitution and the rights and 
protections it guarantees for each and every American.
  The bill before us embraces this idea. H.R. 1492 allows for camp 
committees; private citizens; and State, local and tribal governments 
to partner with the Federal Government to preserve the historical sites 
from this period. By preserving the history behind these physical 
landmarks, new generations of Americans will learn the lessons of this 
tragic period, and significantly, the lesson will not fade from our 
national memory.
  I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Congressman 

     Bill Thomas for his passionate leadership in working with 
     this bill and in bringing it to the floor. I would also like 
     to thank Congressman Honda, Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member 
     Rahall for their bipartisan dedication to this issue. I would 
     also like to acknowledge Mike Holland with Congressman 
     Thomas' personal staff.
  Finally, I would like to thank my good friend Gerald Yamada, who 
originally brought this to my husband's attention last year, for his 
tireless effort behind the scenes on behalf of the Japanese-American 
community.
  Through this legislation, we refresh the pact established in our 
Constitution between citizen and government which ensures our 
government is a protector of our rights and liberties.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo), a very distinguished member of our Resources 
Committee whose help was tremendous on this legislation.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the 
time.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1492, the Preservation of 
World War II Internment Sites Act. Introduced by our colleagues from 
California, Mr. Thomas, and I thank him for his perseverance, Mr. Honda 
and Ms. Matsui, this legislation would go far in preserving the memory 
and the history, however troubling and painful they may be, of our 
government's decision to intern Japanese-Americans during the Second 
World War.
  I thank Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for their very hard 
work in reporting this bill from the Resources Committee.
  Both U.S. history and the American conscience now view Executive 
Order 9066, which directed the Japanese Americans be interned, as 
totally wrong.
  President Jimmy Carter signed into law legislation that led to the 
1982 ``Report of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and 
Internment of Civilians.'' That report concluded that ``Executive Order 
9066 was not justified by military necessity.'' Further, the report 
concluded that the underlying rationale for Executive Order 9066 was 
shaped by ``race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political 
leadership.''
  When signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 into law, President 
Ronald Reagan said: ``Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our 
commitment as a Nation to equal justice under the law.'' The Civil 
Liberties Act provided a long overdue apology for the imprisonment of 
Japanese-Americans during World War II.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1492 directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
create a program within the National Park Service to support and work 
in partnership with citizens, governmental

[[Page H10324]]

and tribal organizations, educational institutions, and private 
nonprofit organizations for the purpose of identifying, protecting, and 
acquiring historic confinement sites where Japanese-Americans were 
detained during World War II in order to gain inspiration from these 
sites and to demonstrate the Nation's commitment to equal justice.
  The initiatives that will be funded by this bill, and the history 
that these initiatives will preserve, are important to our country. The 
Second World War was a great battle for freedom. However, 120,000 
Japanese Americans were forced from their homes and ordered to live in 
seclusion.
  Answers to the questions: Why did this happen, where did this happen, 
and to whom did it happen, and what was it like for those who 
experienced it, this should remain available for future generations of 
Americans to study, to interpret, to reflect upon and to learn from.
  Passage of H.R. 1492 will go far in achieving these goals. It 
deserves our support, Mr. Speaker, and I commend the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thomas) who has long worked to preserve this story and 
those sites of historical significance.
  I also again thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui) for their leadership, and I 
urge support for H.R. 1492.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Hawaii (Mr. Case).
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1492, which I 
am truly honored, especially representing Hawaii, the State with the 
highest number of Americans of Japanese ancestry, to cosponsor.
  I, like others, express my deepest appreciation on behalf not only of 
our AJAs, but all Americans, to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Thomas), the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Matsui), the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) 
and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), for bringing this 
vital measure before the people's House.
  The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is a tragic 
and shameful chapter in our history, replete with misunderstanding by 
too many and courage by too few. Although AJAs on the U.S. mainland, 
particularly the west coast, bore the brunt of this national mistake, 
Japanese-Americans throughout our country were affected.
  After Pearl Harbor, about 10,000 people in Hawaii were investigated, 
and almost 1,500, mostly AJAs, were detained on all of Hawaii's main 
islands. The principal camps were at Sand Island and Honouliuli on 
Oahu. I attach to these remarks a compelling article from the June 2, 
2004, Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporting the remembrances of some of 
Hawaii's surviving detainees.
  Mr. Speaker, it is right and appropriate that we provide for 
permanent memorials of this difficult time, when good people did bad 
things out of fear and ignorance. I especially appreciate that among 
these memorials will be Honouliuli, so that the people of Hawaii and 
elsewhere may put a place and a reality to the words of Harry Urata, of 
Hawaii, who said: ``They made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. But 
don't repeat that.''
  Mahalo.

            [From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 2, 2004]

     The WWII Internments--``A Sad Time . . . A Challenging Time''

                        (By Rosemarie Bernardo)

       In March 1943, FBI agents arrived at the Honolulu Planning 
     Mill in Kakaako where Shozo Takahashi worked as a woodworker. 
     Authorities issued Takahashi a warrant for his arrest, but 
     allowed him to go home to pick up some of his belongings. His 
     brother and wife dropped him off at the FBI office, where he 
     was questioned.
       Takahashi was then taken to the immigration station, where 
     he was photographed and fingerprinted. All the while, he 
     wondered what he had done to be treated like a criminal.
       But it would take the federal government 45 years to tell 
     Takahashi why it detained him at the Honouliuli internment 
     camp.
       An exhibit will open Saturday at the Japanese Cultural 
     Center of Hawaii, 2454 S. Beretania St., telling the story of 
     Takahashi and other Japanese Americans who were detained at 
     internment camps in Hawaii during Word War II.
       Takahashi and other former internees are expected to attend 
     the opening from 1 to 3 p.m.
       ``Dark Clouds Over Paradise: The Hawaii Internees Story'' 
     will be displayed in the center's community gallery Tuesdays 
     through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until July 31. 
     Admission is free.
       Many people are not familiar with the history of Japanese 
     Americans who were held in internment camps in Hawaii, said 
     Keiko Bonk, president and executive director of the Japanese 
     Cultural Center.
       The detained Japanese ``had to ask themselves these serious 
     questions of who they were and where they belong and how 
     these things could be happening to them,'' Bonk said.
       ``It was quite a sad time, as well as a challenging time 
     for the Japanese community,'' she said.
       The Japanese have to speak and educate people about the 
     injustices, Bonk added.
       About 10,000 people in Hawaii were investigated shortly 
     after the Pearl Harbor attack. Buddhist priests, ministers, 
     Japanese school principals and community leaders were 
     detained on the night of Dec. 7, 1941. Within two years, the 
     FBI picked up a number of kibei--Japanese Americans who moved 
     to Japan during their youth to obtain an education and later 
     returned to the United States. An estimated 1,250 Japanese 
     Americans were detained in Hawaii during the war.
       Japanese Americans, along with some Germans and Italians, 
     were held at internment camps on Maui, Kauai and the Big 
     Island before they were transported to a Sand Island camp in 
     May 1942. Officials later decided that detainees should be 
     held inland to avoid the possibility of an attack.
       Detainees were taken to Honouliuli in Leeward Oahu on March 
     1, 1943. Takahashi said they were treated well.
       ``We all cooperate, no trouble,'' said Takahashi, whose 
     wife, Yuriko, assisted as an interpreter.
       He noted that detainees had the opportunity to do various 
     jobs in the camp to earn coupons at 10 cents an hour. 
     Takahashi said he and another man counted spoons before and 
     after meals after they had heard that a detainee at Sand 
     Island had sharpened a spoon into the shape of a knife in an 
     attempt to commit suicide.
       ``If we miss some, gotta go all over,'' Takahashi said.
       Takahashi said he took English classes, played his violin 
     and attended Christian services on Sundays, when he prayed 
     for the war to end.
       At Honouliuli, Takahashi met Harry Urata, and the two 
     became friends.
       Yuriko Takahashi, who remained in Kaimuki, sent Takahashi a 
     fingerprint of their first daughter, who was born in October 
     1943. In his excitement, Takahashi showed it to Urata. It was 
     only then when Urata learned that Takahashi's wife was his 
     former coworker.
       A year later, Takahashi went on a conditional release from 
     Honouliuli. He was required to report to authorities once a 
     month until he was let go in February 1945.
       Takahashi, a kibei who was educated, underwent ROTC 
     training and taught in Japan for 24 years before he returned 
     to Hawaii, wrote to the government in 1988 and requested a 
     copy of his internment records.
       A report cited in Takahashi's 1992 autobiography ``An 
     Autobiography of a Kibei-Nisei'' stated he had dual 
     citizenship and had ``never attempted to be expatriated.'' It 
     further stated that he lived in Japan for more than 20 years, 
     where he attended school, received military training and 
     taught students for four years. It also mentioned that he 
     was a Japanese-language teacher in Honolulu for three 
     years.
       Takahashi said the authorities thought he was pro-Japanese.
       Both Takahashi and Urata, who were born in Hawaii, had 
     taught at the Waialae Japanese Language School at different 
     times before the war started.
       After the internment, Takahashi worked as a carpenter with 
     his brother-in-law. He later returned to teaching at Japanese 
     schools in Honolulu, had two more children and built a house 
     for his family in Kaimuki, where he and his wife still live.
       Takahashi, now 89, continues to take English classes once a 
     week.
       In March 1943, Urata was called to the principal's office 
     at Mid-Pacific Institute, where two FBI officers were 
     waiting.
       The officers questioned Urata for two days before he was 
     taken to the immigration station, where he was held for two 
     weeks in a shack surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.
       He joined other Japanese Americans, many of them issei 
     (first-generation Japanese), at Honouliuli. Urata read books 
     in English and Japanese, played his guitar and sang songs to 
     occupy his time. He also played baseball, practiced kendo and 
     cut kiawe bushes outside the camp, which was also surrounded 
     by a barbed-wire fence.
       ``You get to go out from the wire, fresh air,'' Urata said. 
     While he was being held in Honouliuli, Urata said he often 
     wondered why he was detained because he was an American 
     citizen.
       ``Everytime I used to think like that inside the camp. I 
     thought it was a mistake,'' Urata said.
       Urata speculated he was held at the camp because he was a 
     kibei who left for Japan when he was 6 and returned to Hawaii 
     13 years later.
       Urata said he was among 69 men who were sent to the Tule 
     Lake internment camp from

[[Page H10325]]

     Honouliuli in November 1944 after he described himself as 
     being ``hardheaded.''
       After he was released from Tule Lake, he taught Japanese at 
     the University of Minnesota for a couple of months before 
     returning to Honolulu in December 1945, the year the war 
     ended.
       Urata opened a music studio in Palama, where he taught 
     piano, guitar and voice lessons to generations of students. 
     His studio moved to a few other locations before it settled 
     in its current location in downtown Honolulu. He later 
     married and continues to give voice lessons.
       More than four decades later, Takahashi, Urata and 
     thousands of former surviving internees each received a 
     $20,000 reparation check and a letter of apology from the 
     U.S. government for its injustice toward Japanese Americans 
     during the war.
       Urata, 85, said he is not bitter about his experience.
       ``They made mistakes,'' Urata said. ``Everybody makes 
     mistakes. But don't repeat that.''

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), a very important member of our 
Resources Committee.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H.R. 
1492, a bill to provide for the preservation of historic internment 
facilities where our fellow Americans who happened to be of Japanese 
ancestry were detained during World War II.
  I also want to especially commend my colleague, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thomas), for his leadership and commitment for 
authoring this important legislation, in recognizing the need for some 
kind of a program to identify and provide a historic recognition of 
these so-called relocation camps or internment camps, I call them 
concentration camps, where well over 100,000 men, women and children, 
all Americans who happened to be of Japanese ancestry, all within the 
borders of our own country, were forced to move into these camps that 
were, in actuality, more like prison camps. Their homes and properties 
were confiscated without any compensation and certainly without any due 
process of law.
  Despite all of this, and I want to share this with my colleagues if 
they do not know this, tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans 
requested to join our military to fight for our country during World 
War II. It was at the recommendation of George Marshall to President 
Roosevelt that we should establish a military force composed of these 
Japanese-Americans. That was the result of our establishing the 100th 
Battalion and 442nd Infantry groups who fought for our country in 
Europe against the Nazi Germans.
  History documents the bravery of these Japanese Americans I submit, 
Mr. Speaker. The military records of the 100th Battalion and 442nd 
Infantry are without equal. These units received over 18,000 individual 
declarations, many awarded posthumously, for courage in the field of 
battle; 9,480 Purple Hearts; 560 Silver Stars; 52 Distinguished Service 
Crosses; and only one Medal of Honor. I submit, Mr. Speaker, something 
was wrong here, one Medal of Honor. The 442nd combat group emerged as 
the most decorated combat unit of its size ever in the history of the 
United States Army.
  Because of the tremendous sacrifices made by Japanese-American 
soldiers and African-Americans during World War II, President Truman 
was so moved by this that he issued an Executive Order to desegregate 
our Armed Forces.
  I am proud to say that the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, the senior 
Senator from the State of Hawaii, and the late highly respected Senator 
Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii were among those who distinguished themselves 
in battle as soldiers of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry.
  It was while fighting in Europe that Senator Inouye lost his arm 
while engaged in battle. After congressional mandate to review the 
military records of our Japanese-American veterans, I was privileged to 
attend the White House ceremony officiated by then-President Clinton 
that provided an additional 19 Congressional Medals of Honor to these 
Japanese Americans. I submit, Mr. Speaker, how beautiful it is to see 
justice, including for Senator Inouye who was also awarded with the 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
  When the patriotic survivors of the 100th Battalion and 442nd 
Infantry returned to the United States, many were reunited with their 
parents and brothers and sisters in these relocation camps. I do not 
even know if I could have done what they did. Despite all the hatred 
and the bigotry, the racism that was heaped upon these Americans, when 
they came back, they could not even get a haircut in San Francisco 
simply because they were Japanese-Americans. Full with their 
decorations and a uniform, they could not even get a haircut in San 
Francisco simply because they were Japanese.
  I believe these sites must be preserved because they remind us to be 
vigilant, never to forget what happens if we allow our judgments to be 
clouded by bigotry and racism. Preserving these sites is how great 
America can truly be for our mistakes rather than sweeping them under 
the rug, and we learn from our mistakes in order to move to closer 
equality for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish I did not have to call myself a Pacific American 
or Japanese-American or African-American. I have not heard anybody 
refer to themselves as European American or French-Americans. I do not 
know why we are forced into this kind of a situation. I would just like 
to say we are all Americans. I hate these labels. I wish we could have 
done a better job.
  I thank my dear friend for allowing me the time. I want to especially 
commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), my colleague and 
Chairman of our Asia Pacific Congressional Caucus, and also the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), Mr. John Tateishi, the 
National Director of the Japanese-American League and my good friend, 
Floyd Mori, the Washington representative for JACL.
  I want to share this point with my colleagues and the public about 
what happened.
  I remember a former colleague and Member of this House for many 
years, my good friend, Secretary Norm Mineta, an 11-year-old in these 
camps. They had these machine gun nests posted all over the camps, and 
he was telling me this story. We asked, well, why do you have these 
machine guns around the camp? He said, they are to protect you from 
invaders coming in from outside. He said, if that is true, how come the 
machine guns are pointed all inside the camp?
  Mr. Speaker, I think this bill is well-deserved of consideration and 
approval by our colleagues here, and again, I want to commend the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), my good friend, for his 
leadership in getting this bill in, and I sincerely hope that the 
Members of this institution will approve this legislation.
  Again, I thank my good friend for allowing me this additional minute 
to say these things.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Honda), whose determination and 
dedication helped bring this bill to the floor today.
  (Mr. HONDA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall) for yielding me this time and also special thanks to Chairman 
Thomas for his impassioned advocacy of this bill. We owe him a lot.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1492, a measure to 
provide for the preservation of the historic confinement sites where 
Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. I thank Chairman 
Thomas for his steadfast leadership in introducing and working so 
effectively in moving this bill forward. I am also pleased to be on 
this measure as an original cosponsor with the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Matsui).
  This bill creates a grant program to provide funding for local 
communities to implement plans to repair, restore, and preserve 
historic confinement sites so that current and future generations can 
learn the lessons of the internment period.
  The bill uses the phrase ``confinement sites'' so that funds may be 
used not only for the 10 internment camps

[[Page H10326]]

but for associated sites as well. As stated in the bill, by preserving 
these sites, we will be showing to all Americans and to the world that 
we are a Nation that can deal honestly with past wrongs and further 
show that we can learn from our own mistakes. Ultimately, through this 
preservation program, we will demonstrate the Nation's commitment to 
equal justice under the law.
  When I was a member of the California State Assembly, I had the 
privilege of passing legislation to create the California Civil 
Liberties Public Education Program. The measure created an education 
program to provide competitive grants for educational activities and 
the development of educational materials to ensure that the events 
surrounding the exclusion, forced removal, and incarceration of 
civilians and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry would be 
remembered.
  The Public Education Program has also shed light on how Executive 
Order 9066, the order paving the way for the internment, impacted 
others such as the Italian and German Americans as well as people of 
Japanese ancestry living in Latin America. I know that H.R. 1492 in a 
similar fashion will add to the depth of knowledge we have regarding 
the internment period. Only by understanding the causes leading to the 
internment can we as a Nation put ourselves in a better position to 
avoid making similar mistakes.
  While my State bill in California helped to preserve the stories of 
the internment period, the legislation that Mr. Thomas has authored 
will help to preserve the physical, tangible reminders of this period 
and will have a deep impact on our ability to make the stories real for 
future generations.
  The internment sites, Manzanar, Topaz, Minidoka, Heart Mountain, Tule 
Lake, Gila River, Poston, Amache, Rohwer, Jerome, and related 
confinement sites stand as an important and powerful lesson for this 
Nation.
  I commend the groups making up the Japanese American National 
Heritage Coalition and the work of Gerald Yamada and Floyd Mori in 
bringing this issue to Congress. And, again, I truly want to thank 
Chairman Thomas for his efforts in making this bill a reality today and 
thank all of my colleagues who have joined as cosponsors of this 
measure.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion of the debate on this bill, I 
appreciate my colleagues across the aisle and the wonderful heartfelt 
comments that have been made. It is deeply moving to hear some of the 
personal testimonies, and when the gentleman from Samoa spoke saying he 
wished he were not referred to as a Pacific American, I was reminded of 
the events immediately after 9/11. Such a horrible evil thing when evil 
people filled with hate wanting to destroy innocent Americans came and 
crashed into our buildings, leaving so many devastated and destroyed 
and killed.
  But I recall the day after 9/11, and like that flower that grows 
after a terrible event, so many all over America held hands and sang 
songs. I remember the day after that event there were no hyphenated 
Americans in the United States anywhere. We were all Americans. And 
that was one of the few things that we came away from. What a wonderful 
thing. Race did not matter. Background, socioeconomic conditions did 
not matter. We were Americans, and we were proud to be Americans.
  The other comment that has been made that should be highlighted is 
that it is important to learn from our mistakes, and that is one of the 
great things about America. It is one of the very few nations in this 
world that will stand up and say, you know what, we made a mistake and 
we are going to fix it. We are going to notice it.
  Some say Satchel Paige made the quote that often is used: ``Don't 
look back. They may be gaining on you.'' But I read that he also had a 
quote later in life: ``It's okay to look back. Just don't stare.'' This 
bill will allow us to look back, see that we made a mistake, and make 
sure that it is corrected.
  With regard to our troops that come home from Iraq and Afghanistan 
who are doing the service of this country, it is important also that we 
learn from our mistakes, and without regard to race, creed, sex, 
gender, socioeconomic conditions, we welcome them home; we thank them 
for their bravery.
  In the meantime, this is a good bill. We urge the passage of this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1492, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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