[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4671-S4672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 871. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resources study of the Honoliuli Internment Camp site in the 
State of Hawaii, to determine the suitability

[[Page S4672]]

and feasibility of establishing a unit of the National Park System; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a Special 
Resources Study of the Honouliuli Gulch and associated sites located in 
the State of Hawaii in order to determine the suitability and 
feasibility of designating these sites as a unit of the National Park 
System.
  During World War II, over 1,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated 
in at least eight locations on Hawaii. In a report completed in 2007, 
the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii documented these sites that 
include Honouliuli Gulch, Sand Island, and the US Immigration Station 
on Oahu, the Kilauea Military Camp on the Big Island, Haiku Camp and 
Wailuku County Jail on Maui, and the Kalaheo Stockade and Waialua 
County Jail on Kauai. These camps also held approximately 100 local 
residents of German and Italian ancestry.
  Those detained included the leaders of the Japanese immigrant 
community in Hawaii, many of whom were taken from their homes and 
families in the hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The forced 
removal of these individuals began a nearly four year odyssey to a 
series of camps in Hawaii and on the continental US. Over 1,000 
immediate family members of these men joined their husbands, fathers 
and relatives in mainland camps. The detainees were never formally 
charged and granted only token hearings. Many of the detainees' sons 
served with distinction in the US armed forces, including the legendary 
100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence 
Service.
  This report found that both the Kilauea Military Camp and the 
Honouliuli sites feature historic resources and recommended that the 
sites be nominated for listing on the National Register for Historic 
Places. In 2008, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii published a 
more detailed archeological reconnaissance of the Honouliuli site. This 
report found that there were numerous historic features that would 
qualify the site for National Historic Register and further recommended 
that the site be conserved. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii is 
currently working with Monsanto, the landowner, to nominate the 
Honouliuli Gulch site to be listed on the National Historic Register.
  So far I have received letters in support of this legislation from a 
range of local, regional and national organizations, including the 
Japanese American National Museum, Hawaiian Historical Society, Go For 
Broke National Education Center, Japan America Society of Hawaii, 
Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese Citizens League, Japanese Cultural 
Center of Hawaii, Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce, MIS 
Veterans Club of Hawaii, the United Japanese Society of Hawaii, 
Japanese American Citizens League, The Conservation Fund, Densho, 
National Trust for Historic Preservation, Japanese American National 
Heritage Coalition and the Friends of Minidoka.
  This legislation will enable the National Park Service to study these 
important sites in my state and make recommendations to Congress 
regarding the best approach to conserve and manage these sites to tell 
this chapter in our Nation's history to current and future generations.
  I would urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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