MSHS students pay tribute to internees

For The Madera Tribune

MSHS historical literacy students Ana Miguel-Leon, Mia Reyes (front), Ailin Leon-Torres, and Jessica Giron (back) and their teacher Valerie Shelton (left) joined Wally and Ruth Nishimoto (right) at the JACL’s annual Day of Remembrance luncheon at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Feb. 11. Student’s in Shelton’s class are currently conducting a Madera Method research project on the Nishimotos.

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While everyone remembers Dec. 7, 1941, as a day that will live in infamy, many fail to recognize the significance of Feb. 19, 1942.

On this later date, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing the evacuation of an estimated 125,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast to internment camps where many would be incarcerated for the remainder of WWII.

To commemorate this important day in history, the Central Valley chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) hosts an annual day of remembrance each February.