[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                  DEDICATION OF THE REMEMBRANCE PLAZA

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commemorating the dedication of the Remembrance Plaza, a memorial to 
the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, CA, on February 16, 2009. The 
Pinedale Assembly Center was a temporary internment site for nearly 
5,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. The 
dedication of Remembrance Plaza is a fitting tribute to a generation of 
Japanese Americans who stood tall in the face of adversity and 
injustice.
  The Pinedale Assembly Center was located 8 miles north of downtown 
Fresno on vacant land near an existing millworkers' housing facility. 
From May 7 to July 23, 1942, the Pinedale Assembly Center served as a 
temporary holding area for nearly 5,000 Japanese Americans, most of 
them were from Sacramento and El Dorado, as well as Oregon and 
Washington, before they were transferred to 1 of 10 internment camps 
throughout the Western States.
  Today, the former site of the Pinedale Assembly Center is a 
California Registered Historical Landmark. The Remembrance Plaza, a 
striking 7,000 square-foot memorial that features a fountain, a 
concrete plaza, Japanese landscaping, an interpretive wall, and ten 
prominently displayed story boards, will stand tall to tell the 
Japanese American story of internment and redress. The Remembrance 
Plaza is a testament to the determination of a generation of Japanese 
Americans and to the value of civil liberties, justice, and equality in 
our democracy.
  I would like to thank the Pinedale Assembly Memorial Project 
Committee, the Central California District Council of the Japanese 
American Citizens League, the Central California District Nikkei 
Foundation, the city of Fresno, and the many friends and supporters of 
this important project for their determined efforts to help make this 
beautiful and fitting memorial a reality.
  I am keenly aware of the historical significance of the Japanese 
American experience during World War II and this is why I was proud to 
introduce legislation with my colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein, that 
would authorize a study that could result in the Tule Lake Segregation 
Center's designation as a national historic site. I am hopeful that 
this measure which passed the Senate in January will soon become law.
  The Remembrance Plaza provides a window for future generations to see 
the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II. As 
supporters of this most worthwhile and fitting memorial gather to 
commemorate its dedication, I thank them for their support and wish 
them a successful and enjoyable experience.

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