Greetings from Manzanar National Historic Site

Over the years, I have visited over 50 of the National Parks and numerous other NPS sites. I have found all of them to be beautiful, historic, inspiring. However, perhaps the one place that left me most affected was Manzanar National Historic site, one of the sites where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during WWII. It wasn’t just the sense of injustice, that how could we do this to other Americans? What I was most affected by was the resilience of the people who had been uprooted from their homes and taken to this inhospitable place. I looked at the changes that they made in the shabby buildings that were meant to be the dormitories; at the gardens they planted; and at the community hall that they built on their own there–the one building on the site that has survived the test of time, while all others have crumbled. It now serves as the visitor center there. I was also very affected by the cards that you were given as you entered the VC. On each was the name of an actual resident there, so that you could experience in a small way what it was like to live there. The film shown in the theater should not be missed either.

Manzanar is located in the beautiful Owens Valley of California, remote and far from the cities of the state. Take Highway 395 south, out the “backdoor” of Yosemite. It’s out of the way, but you’ll be glad that you did.

Sincerely,
Mona