The Amache Internment Camp Through Documents

Target Point Green by Lily Havey "In a government publication I found a map with Amache targeted in a green circle.  This is the exact shade of green.  The vertical line to the right of the map is the Kansas border."

While Carr had little to do with the organization and development of the camp, photographs and records of the camp exist in the Governor’s Council of Defense records. Publications and photographs from the federal government were sent to Carr and the other governors where the camps were located as informational and public relations-type items such as the following booklet about the Amache camp.

The following digital presentation is a scanned booklet published by the War Relocation Authority in 1943. The booklet describes the overall operation of the camp. Pages 11 and 14 are blank. Introduction Pg 1 Pg 2 Pg 3 Pg 4 Pg 5 Pg 6 High School Illustration Granada Project Map Pg 7 Pg 8 Pg 9 Pg 10 Pg 12   Pg 13 Granada Center Map Hospital Pg 15 Pg 16 Pg 17 Pg 18 Pg 19 Pg 20 Pg 21 Pg 22 Pg 23 Pg 24

The “Americanization” of the Japanese-Americans was a primary concern in the camps for the War Relocation Authority. This photograph shows the Amache Summer Carnival Parade, dated July 10, 1943, which emphasizes American-type freedom.

Photo by Joe McClelland

This “Americanization” of Japanese-Americans was complicated by the existence of two distinct groups. The Japanese Issei leaders were immigrants and were under more suspicion by the U.S. government than the younger generation of Nisei who were either born or had spent most of their lives here. Since the Issei had generally been here longer they usually had more property and possessions to lose than the Nisei.  Many Issei believed that the United States was treating them unfairly which led to some either being neutral or having sympathy for Japan. The Nisei tended to speak better English making their communication with non-Japanese Americans better and their assimilation into the American culture somewhat easier.

The Training of Patience by Lily Havey "I remember long lines and waits to board trains to  Colorado.  The woman with the staff is my mother in contemporary clothing walking toward those same trains.  The rides were sporadic stop-and-go legs with the blinds pulled down during the day.  This not to prevent us looking out, but to prevent people outside seeing us.  In a diary lost in a flood, I noted each stop on the trip.  There were many.  It was a three day trip from California to Colorado."

Many young men joined the United States military to create a distinctively Japanese-American unit in the Army. Representatives from the War Department recruited these men with the following encouragement:

“If your strength were diffused through the  Army of the United States – as has already been done with many other Americans of your blood, relatively little account would be taken of your action. You would be important only as manpower—nothing more. But united, and working together, you would become a symbol of something greater than your individual selves, and the effect would be felt both in the United States and abroad. All other Americans would long remember what you had done for the country, and you would be a living reproach to those who have been prejudiced against you because of your Japanese blood.” (Nisei in Uniform)
 

"Captain Jerry P. Tobin, infantry recruiting officer, swearing in a group of Nisei youths, loyal Japanese-Americans, who are recruiting for service in the United States Army, after undergoing a stiff examination, determining their ability as interpreters on both spoken and written Japanese. All of these Nisei boys formerly held draft classification cards 4/C. There were 24 signers." Photo by Tom Parker 12/12/42

The Japanese-Americans fought nobly and effectively, were highly decorated and earned reputations as being some of the most heroic soldiers in the U.S. Service. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Photo from Nisei in Uniform

By 1944 the contributions of the Japanese-Americans in the armed services and Governor Carr’s leadership may have influenced many Coloradans to soften their attitudes towards the Japanese. Proposed Amendment # 3 which would have prevented aliens ineligible to citizenship (the Issei) from owning property in the state was defeated in the General Election in November, 1944. The following document comes from the Secretary of State’s Office:

Last modified December 12, 2006