HIST 114 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Santa Barbara City College, Yoshiko Uchida, Western Defense Command
Document Summary
The u. s. military"s first operation under executive order 9066 was on 25 february 1942 to remove the entire japanese-american population from terminal island off the coast of. Armed soldiers marched into the old fishing village and forced any person of. Japanese origin to leave their homes within 48 hours, including american citizens. Finally, japan towns were under the same instructions in california, oregon and. Western defense command of the u. s. military quickly converted 16 sites in. California horse racetracks, fairgrounds, rodeo grounds, and labor camps to temporary detention camps. Barbed-wire fences enclosed the compounds, which were patrolled by soldiers with bayonet-tipped rifles. Guard towers were staffed with machine guns by soldiers, and at night searchlights crisscrossed the grounds. All these measures were taken to ensure no one fled from the camps. Barracks and horse stalls were divided into blocks containing a central mess hall (cafeteria), latrine (bathroom), toilets, wash basins, and laundry pool.
