Day of Remembrance (DOR) is a day commemorating the Japanese American internment during World War II. Events in numerous U.S. states are held on or near February 19, the day in 1942 that Executive Order 9066 was signed, requiring internment of all Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast.
Literally overnight, an entire population was denied the rights guaranteed to all citizens under the U.S. Constitution, and the history of our Elk Grove-Florin community was forever changed. Few internees would return to reclaim their farms, businesses, or former lives.
It is our hope that our growing collection of Time of Remembrance interviews will help bring history alive for not only EGUSD students, but for all students and their families, by deepening their understanding of the impact of war on individuals, targeted groups, and entire communities.
On January 19, 2016, The Elk Grove Unified Board of Education passed the Day of Remembrance Board Resolution. Students in our district have been visiting the California Museum where they have the opportunity to experience life in a WWII internment camp through the first-hand experiences of formerly-interned docents, including Marielle Tsukamoto, on a guided tour of Uprooted! Japanese Americans During WWII.
We were very excited to receive a blog comment on February 19 from a fellow classmate of Reiko Nagumo – looking to reconnect with her. They had been classmates at Los Feliz Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA, prior to Reiko leaving school for the Heart Mountain Relocation Center (located midway between the towns of Cody and Powell in northwest Wyoming). Reiko’s classmate Geraldine Clove shared some of the names of the other students in the above photo (featured in Reiko’s photo gallery). She also shared that she had never forgotten when Reiko left to be interned, but, more importantly, the day she was able to return to school.
Reiko talks about leaving school and returning in Clip 2 of her interview. We are in the process right now of connecting Geraldine to Reiko. We will create another post when that reunion happens.
Gail and Kathleen
