The Poston Memorial Monument is Dedicated To the 17,867 people of Japanese ancestry, citizens and alien, men, women and children who were incarcerated at this site from May 5, 1942 to November 28, 1945; To the soldiers from Poston Concentration camps who were killed in action and to the Colorado River Indian Tribes on whose land the Monument Stands; funded and constructed in 1992 by internees of Poston Camps I, II, and III and friends.

This Memorial Monument marks the site of the War Relocation Detention Camps where persons of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned for 3 1/2 years. All persons of Japanese descent living in California, Washington, Oregon and a section of Arizona, were forcibly evacuated by the United States military on grounds that they posed a threat to national security. This massive internment of 120,000 men, women and children with more than 1/16th “Japanese blood” was authorized by Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. The majority of the detainees, American citizens by birth, was stripped of their citizenship and became a class of “non-aliens”. Each internee was allowed to take only what he/she could carry and a bed-roll leaving behind farms, homes and businesses. They endured countless indignities at the hands of a nation misguided by war-time hysteria, racial prejudice and fear. We erect this monument to remind us that such a gross miscarriage of justice will never happen again to any group of people.This Memorial Monument was designed by Sacramento Architect Ray Takata. It stands 30 feet high and 7 feet wide with a hexagonal base in the form of a Japanese stone lantern. The ingenious spout at the top of the obelisk prevents rain water from staining the sides of the monument. The plaques tell the story of the Poston Camps and the history of the Colorado River Indian Tribes who gave a 99-year lease for the land on which the monument stands.With generous contributions from Poston Camp I, II and III internees and friends, the Poston Memorial Monument committee organized in Sacramento, California, began its dream project. Ted Kobata, construction chief, and his Camp II crew, Mas Sunahara, Sid Arase, Jim Kobata, Jim Namba, Susumu Satow, Jun Sunahara, Duke Takeuchi and Kay Urakawa labored in the hot Arizona desert for many days, joined later by other volunteers. This monument was completed and dedicated on October 6, 1992. Several years later, the kiosk was completed.

1200 SONS AND BROTHERS VOLUNTEERED FROM POSTON CAMPS I, II AND III TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY. THEY FOUGHT FOR OUR RELEASE; THESE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES TO PROVE OUR LOYALTY:

HIROO ENDO, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Purple Heart, Downey, CA

ABE M. FUJI, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Salinas, CA

CHARLES FUJIKI, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Seabrook, NJ

TADAO HAYASHI, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Salinas, CA

TORAO HAYASHI, Private First Class, 100th Battalion, Rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” Sacramento, CA

PAUL HORIUCHI, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Salinas, CA

EUGENE INOUYE, Private, San Dimas, CA

HENRY IZUMIZAKI, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” Watsonville, CA

HARRY MADOKORO, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Distinguished Service Cross, Police Chief Poston Camp II, Watsonville, CA

TIMOTHY MIZOKAMI, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT, Rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” Monterey, CA

HACHIRO MUKAI, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Purple Heart,Combat Infantryman’s Badge, European African Middle-Eastern Medal, Campaign Medal(One Battle Star), San Jose, CA

FUMITAKE NAGATO, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Purple Heart, Brawley, CA, Arlington National Cemetery

JOHN NARIMATSU, Corporal, 442nd RCT, Rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” Dinuba, CA

TOM T. NISHIMOTO, Private, 442nd RCT, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star, El Centro, CA

KONGO NITTE, Private, Watsonville, CA

JOHN OGAWA, Sergeant, 442nd RCT, Purple Heart, Garden Grove, CA

ABRAHAM OHAMA, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT, Silver Star, Los Angeles, CA

LLOYD ONOYE, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Salinas, CA

ATSUSHI SAKAMOTO, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT, Silver Star, Purple Heart, San Pedro, CA

JOE SHIOMICHI, Private, Teacher in Poston Camp 1, Brawley, CA, Evergreen Cemetery, CA

JAMES K. SHIRAMIZU, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT

MICHIO TESHIMA, Private, 442nd RCT, Riverside, CA

DANIEL TSUKAMOTO, Private First Class

SHICHIZO TOYOTA, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Modesto, CA, Arlington National Cemetery,

JOHN TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO, Private First Class, 442nd RCT, Oceanside, CA, US Military Cemetery, Florence, Italy

(The 442nd RCT received 7 Presidential Unit Citations)

THE POSTON MEMORIAL MONUMENT COMMITTEE WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ASSISTANCE IN ANY AMOUNT FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF OUR MONUMENT.ENCLOSED IS MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION OF

$ ___________

Name_________________________________________________________

Maiden Name __________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip__________________________________________________

Phone, e-mail or fax _____________________________________________

Former internee of Camp I ____Camp II ____ Camp III ____Other _________

Please send your contribution to:

Poston Memorial Monument Fund

P. O. Box 221733

Sacramento, CA 95822

THANK YOU!

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