Rohwer Internment Camp Veterans Memorial

Rohwer Internment Camp Veterans Memorial. . , The memorial includes inscriptions on four sides., Dedicated to the Patriotic Japanese-American men from Rohwer Internment Camp who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country in World War II. , U.S. Fifth Army , 100 Battalion , 442 Regiment. , Cassino Anzio , Rear Panel , Japanese-American Creed. , I am an American of Japanese ancestry and appreciate the advantages of our nation. I glory in her heritage: I trust in her future. We are granted liberties and opportunities greater than anywhere in the world. We are entrusted with the responsibilities of the franchise: permitted to build a home: to earn a livelihood, to worship, think speak and act as we please - - as a free man., After Pearl Harbor, a wave of hysteria swept the country and nearly 112,000 Japanese-American citizens came under suspicion as to their loyalty to the United States. As a result, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the War Relocation Authority by Executive Order no. 9066 on May 18, 1942, with the power to relocate intern those people of Japanese ancestry, residing on the west coast of the United States., Under the auspices of the War Relocation Authority, the Rohwer relocation center was established on September 18, 1942. The first of some 8,500 Japanese - Americans arrived at Rohwer for internment on that date., In February, 1943, the U. S. army established the famed 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental combat team, an all Nisei unit. This unit served with great valor and distinguished itself in the European theatre. Ironically, the families of this unit remained interned., We are proud to remember that the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regiment were the most highly decorated of all units during world war two. The most courageous and notable battles, fought by the units included those at Salerno, Anzio and Cassino, as well as the rescue of the Texas 'lost battalion'., It should be remembered that during the internment years thousands of Japanese-Americans volunteered or were drafted to serve in military intelligence operations in the Pacific War with Japan. Three decades following the end of world war two information was finally made public which described the valor and courage exhibited by these individuals and their secret contribution to the Pacific victory., At the end of world war two, on November 30, 1945, last Japanese-American left Rohwer ending 3½ years of internment. , This memorial is also dedicated to the memory of the many Japanese-Americans from Rohwer that gave their lives that others might enjoy the freedoms which they and their families were denied., PFC. Fred S. Yasuda - France , PFC. Cooper Tahara - France , PFC. Kay K. Masaoka - France , PFC. Takeo Kaneichi - France , PFC. Joe Nishimoto - France , SGT. Akira Otsubo - France , SGT. Stanley Ichiki - Germany , CPL Toshio Hozaki - Italy , PFC. Takeo Ninomiya - Italy , PFC. Tatsuo Yoshizaki - Italy , SGT William Imamoto - Italy , CPL. Robert Kishi - Italy , SGT. Iwao Takahashi - Italy , CPL. George Kawano - Italy , CPL. Teruo Hozaki - Italy, Sam Yutaka Yada , April 20, 1905 - April 19, 1991 , In honor and memory of Sam Yutaka Yada who during his life here in Arkansas 1942-1991 worked for the national recognition and the preservation and restoration of this cemetery., PVT. Susumu Okura - France , PFC. Masuto Sakado - France , PFC. George Saito - France , PFC. Calvin Saito - Italy , SGT. Zenichi Masuda - Italy , SGT. Togo Sugiyama - Italy , SGT. Roy A. Shimatsu - Italy , SGT. Ted. T. Tanouye - Italy , CPL. Yoshinori Sakai - France , SGT. Seichi Nakamoto - France , PFC. Bob Kameoka - France , CPL. George Nakamura - France , PFC. Ko Tanaka - France , PFC. Masaru Tashima - France , PFG. George Okokawa - France , PFC. Minoru Yoshida - France