Today is the Day of Remembrance (Executive Order 9066)

[Jesus Malverde]

The Day of Remembrance is a day commemorating the Japanese American internment during World War II.

Executive Order 9066 is a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones. Eventually, EO 9066 cleared the way for the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. The executive order was spurred by a combination of war hysteria and reactions to the Niihau Incident.

[DreamGypsy]

1. A song in honor of the Day...and the remembrance of the real impact on real people...

James Keelaghan's song Kiri's Piano is about Canadian internees in WWII, but the message applies to U.S. internees as well. A true story.

Of all of Kiri Ito's joys, the thing she loved the best
Was to play her prized piano when the sun had gone to rest
I used to hear the notes drift down along the silent water
As Kiri played the notes and scales for her dear sons and daughters
...

(There is 1 minute introduction by James about empathy and the personal impact of the song.)

&feature=kp

Now me I played piano though not as good as Kiri
She went in for that long haired stuff but my she played it pretty
The old piano had a tone would set my heart to aching
It always sounded sweetest though when it was Kiri playing

In December when the seventh fleet was turned to smoke and ashes
The order came to confiscate their fishing boats and caches
And Kiri's husband forced to go and work in labour camps
And Kiri left alone to fend and hold the fort as best she could

But the music did not drift as often from up the cove at Kiri's house
And when it did it sounded haunted played with worry, played with doubt
For Kiri knew that soon she too would be compelled to leave
And the old upright would stay behind and Kiri she would grieve

I loaded Kiri on the bus with stoic internees
The crime that they were guilty of was that they were not like me
And if I was ashamed I didn't know it at the time
They were flotsam on the wave of war they were no friends of mine

I went up to Kiri's house to tag all their belongings
And set them out for auctioneers who'd claim them in the morning
One piece that I thought I'd keep and hold back for myself
Was that haunting ivory upright that Kiri played so well

But Kiri had not left it there for me to take as plunder
She'd rolled it down onto the dock and on into the harbor
That old upright in strangers' hands was a thought she couldn't bear
So she consigned it to the sea to settle the affair

So many years have come and gone since Kiri's relocation
I look back now upon that time with shame and resignation
For Kiri knew what I did not that if we must be free
Then sometimes we must sacrifice to gain our dignity
Yes Kiri knew what I did not that if we must be free
Then sometimes we must sacrifice to gain our dignity

[mulsh]

2. A number of years ago at lunch with friends one of our party told us a story about

two "crazy Irish guys" who saved their family's nursery business while they were interned. He kept talking about "Jim and Barney" and the more he talked the more familiar it sounded. I called my mom during this lunch and asked her if her father or uncle ever bought Japanese nurseries during the war. It turned out they did.

My great uncle Jim was in the flower and plant supply business in Hollywood and So. Cal at this time. He had many friends and business partners who were interned. He and my grandfather,Barney, who was fairly affluent, purchased at least five but it may have been as many as seven different nurseries from these internees. They paid the families a couple thousand for each nursery and held onto these properties and some people's possessions until after the war when the internees were released. When the families returned my relatives handed over their property and told them to forget about any debt. According to my lunch companion it enabled his family to pick up pretty much where they left off. A couple of weeks later he gave me a photo of his parents and grandparents with my relatives.

My mom never told me why she never told us kids about this when we were younger. She said maybe we were ashamed of what we did to Japanese-American citizens.

[Jesus Malverde]

4. Thats an amazing story...

One part of this tragedy was the families that ended up selling businesses and homes overnight. It's good to hear there were some who did the right thing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Amazing story

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Japanese Internment Camps

http://vimeo.com/29012607