Recognizing the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, the reporting site for 4,823 Japanese Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 109, recognizing the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center located in Fresno, California.

The history of this internment center is a reflection of the 65th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which reminds us of a dark chapter in U.S. history.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the order authorizing the forced internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, placing tremendous hardship on the innocent that, in many cases, resulted in a loss of jobs, businesses, property and ultimately, in some cases, their dignity.

Further, the internment was a violation of their constitutional rights. Internees were denied their liberty, their civil rights, the right to due process, and equal protection under the law. Yet, no Japanese American, before or after their internment, was ever accused or convicted of espionage or sabotage.

In fact, over 14,000 Japanese Americans served valiantly and on a voluntary basis in our Armed Forces during World War II with great distinction. One could only imagine what went through their minds, the members of our military, as they defended our Nation's freedoms, while their own families were languishing back in American internment camps.

Pinedale, then, following the order, was a relocation center, and the Japanese Americans throughout the West were asked to report to these relocation centers. This relocation center handled over 4,823 individuals.

Numbers are just numbers, ladies and gentlemen. But let me tell you some of the stories that passed through this camp.

A dear friend of mine, and a beloved Member of this body, the late Congressman Bob Matsui, arrived at the Pinedale Assembly Center at age two. Congressman Matsui fought against all odds, as did all of those, and despite the prejudice and the hardships, rose to be a great leader of our Nation.

Another story, James Hirabayashi, interned there at age 17. And he wrote, and you can imagine hearing the words: ``My parents and three siblings and myself occupied a single barrack at the Pinedale detention camp. However, we were soon to be split further apart and never regained the unified family life during the war.''

Later, James received his Ph.D. at Harvard, became a professor of anthropology at San Francisco State and now chairs the Asian Studies program.

Another story: Jack Hata was evacuated to Pinedale on his 21st birthday. He recalled: ``The assembly center was made up of rows of tarpapered black barracks enclosed by barbed wire fencing with armed guard towers. The most vivid recollection of the Pinedale experience had to be that of a strong, hot wind picking up every mid-afternoon blowing dust over the entire camp and making seeing and breathing very difficult.''

Today, ladies and gentlemen, much has changed. Pinedale is a part of our history, a place of loss, of hatred and fear. But now it will be transformed into a place of remembrance for healing and hope.

The Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project Committee cosponsored by the Central California District of Japanese American Citizens and the California Nikkei Foundation is establishing a memorial. The memorial would not have been possible without the dedication and diligence of all those who have supported this effort, including Judge Dale Ikeda, chairman of the memorial project.

I am one of those that serves on the Project Advisory Committee. But Dale says it best: ``By preserving the Pinedale Assembly Center story, we hope to teach a lesson in history, that it takes people to ensure `justice for all.' And rather, it is the duty of each generation to strive to form a more perfect union for ourselves and for the sake of our children.''

The memorial groundbreaking will take place next week, February 19, on the 65th anniversary of the executive order.

Today, over 5,000 Japanese Americans, many former World War II internees and their families, live in Fresno County, and the Pinedale Memorial will honor these and those who suffered during that period.

The memorial sends a message that we are committed to healing historical wounds and replacing the prejudice and fear with the American values of equality and justice.

It has been said that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Let's make sure this memorial helps us learn.

Allow me to close by reading the parts of the memorial plaque inscription that will be dedicated next week:

``This Memorial is dedicated to over 4,800 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined at the Pinedale Assembly Center. This was an early phase of a mass incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans. They were detained without charges, trial or establishment of guilt. May such injustices and suffering never recur.''

I thank the gentleman for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of House Resolution 109. Today we will be taking action on two related measures, House Resolution 122, earlier debated, and this resolution.

One of the lowest points in American history occurred 65 years ago when the Constitution and civil rights of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were trampled upon by their own government. Under the cloud of war, hysteria, false rumors and racial bigotry fueled official misconduct that led to the uprooting of innocent aliens and citizens alike in one of the worst wholesale infringements of constitutional rights in the 20th century.

As a consequence, thousands of persons of Japanese ancestry were forced by their own government to dispose of their property, businesses, farms and possessions for pennies on the dollar, if anything at all. Families were split up and sent to different relocation camps. Educations were disrupted, and careers abruptly terminated on only a few days' notice. Wholesale violations of basic constitutional rights were committed in the name of national security. Yet not a single act of sedition or espionage by any of the evacuees was ever proven in any court of law.

To the contrary, the historic exploits of AJA in the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe and the MIS in the Pacific and Asia proved that patriotism was not skin deep. The psychological and emotional pain of this experience was so deep that many evacuees never talked about their experiences for decades.

Many who were directly affected by the order live and work among us still. A member of my own congressional staff, my deputy chief of staff, Susan Kodani, was born in the Manzanar Relocation Camp. Her family was then relocated to Michigan, ironically to permit her college-educated father to assist in the war effort.

Many more, of course, suffered personal losses and tragedies more traumatic and devastating. By recognizing the historic significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center and by observing the Day of Remembrance as called for in earlier House Resolution 122, we say to the Nation and our fellow citizens that America can never forget this horrible tragedy. While it directly affected one segment of our population, the ramifications to all Americans are profound and no less relevant today as we wage war in Iraq.

The constitutional rights of all Americans are in jeopardy if any group of citizens can be persecuted without legal justification. We must all stand vigilant and alert for any attempt by any group, whether a small power clique or the majority of Americans, to overstep the bounds of the law for momentary expediency or even for claims of national security during war. The protection of our constitutional rights of all of our citizens require continued vigilance from all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 109) recognizing the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, the reporting site for 4,823 Japanese Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 109. We have been discussing in the previous resolution Executive Order 9066. When President Roosevelt signed that order, approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps, leading to the loss of their livelihoods, homes, and jobs. This action was the largest relocation of Americans in our history. Before being deported to permanent camps in desolate areas and behind barbed wires, thousands of Japanese Americans were temporarily held at assembly centers. Close to 5,000 Japanese Americans reported to the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, California.

The Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project Committee will establish a memorial at that site, marking the tragedy that occurred there. The groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial will take place in just a few days, on February 19, 2007, 65 years after the signing of Executive Order 9066 and a day that the Japanese American community most appropriately recognizes as a national day of remembrance.

H. Res. 109 recognizes the historical significance of the site. The site is a symbol of the injustices suffered by Japanese Americans during World War II and a reminder of how fragile our civil liberties are in the face of fear, prejudice, and paranoia. I particularly want to commend my colleague, Representative Costa of California, for introducing this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague from California (Mr. Honda).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize our new colleague, the gentlelady from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono) for 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Berman for his leadership.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 109, which recognizes the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, and I want to thank House leadership for bringing two resolutions on the floor today recognizing the important historical aspects of the Japanese American internment. I also want to thank Congressman Costa for his leadership in introducing this very important resolution.

Executive Order 9066 authorized the exclusion and internment of all Japanese Americans living on the west coast during World War II. As we recognize the Pinedale Assembly Center, I want us to place the internment period into a broader historical context rather than just focus on the plight of the Japanese Americans during World War II.

Our Nation has always battled the dueling sentiments of openness and freedom on the one hand and apprehension and fear of perceived outsiders on the other. Due to apprehension and fear when our economy took a downturn in the 1880s, the Asian community became the target of politicians looking for someone to blame.

In 1882 the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to keep out people of all Chinese origin. During World War II, Japanese Americans were the well-known target of the government's submission to apprehension and fear.

During this time, 10,000 Italian Americans were forced to relocate; 3,278 were incarcerated, while nearly 11,000 German Americans were incarcerated. German and Italian Americans were restricted during World War II by measures that branded them enemy aliens and required identification cards, travel restrictions, seizure of personal property as well.

Our Federal Government has made amends for the fundamental violations of the basic rights of those of Japanese ancestry that took place pursuant to Executive Order 9066, but we must continue to learn from these events. In the post-9/11 world, we need to protect our Nation and our civil liberties more than ever.

As political leaders we must not fail to uphold constitutional principles.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 109, recognizing the historical significance of the Pinedale Assembly Center, the reporting site for over 4,823 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly interned during World War II.

The Pinedale Assembly Center is located 8 miles north of downtown Fresno, California, on vacant land. It is a stark place, as was the policy that was supported by Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to authorize the tragic internment of Japanese Americans at the beginning of World War II.

The assembly center was encircled by a high chain-link fence, topped with three rows of barbed wire, and it caged American citizens whose only crime was their ancestry. Soldiers gave orders to citizens who should have been free; livelihoods were put on hold; uncertainty and fear punctuated each day. Thousands of law-abiding citizens who loved America and contributed to its strength had been trapped in endless rows of drab cell blocks.

The center serves as a symbol of America's stumbling. But our country has regained its footing. It has appropriately apologized for the tragic mistake of President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, and it is reaffirming its commitment, through this resolution before us today, to never forget its mistakes lest they be repeated.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

I would like to associate myself with the comments of Mr. Honda. I think it is very clear that you can't remember 65 years ago with the resolution and

not have a permanent, physical site for people to go to every day and realize what internment meant. So I join with my colleagues in supporting this resolution, urge its passage and recognize that this pairing of resolutions means a great deal, because it is only with something that the public can visit 365 days a year that we will, in fact, prevent this from happening again.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.