A moment in time cast in bronze stands in front of the Robert Peckham federal building.
It captures a dark time in U.S. history and the struggles of Japanese Americans living in it.
One side displays the freedoms and passions that the Japanese once had being stripped from them.
The memorial displays the Taiyo Maru, a ship filled with hopeful immigrants, on the left.
The scene pans to the right which displays how these hopefuls made their living.
They farmed, traded and lived in tightly knit communities.
This way of life is disrupted by the officers of the law escorting the Japanese citizens to camps by the busload which was immortalized in bronze.
Families that were desperate to show their allegiance are depicted burning away artifacts of their heritage.
A little girl begs her father not to burn away her doll.
Signs adorn a number of family owned stores that read "Evacuation Sale."
The futile desperation of these families is captured on this side while a row of barbed wire run across the top and wraps around to the reverse side of the memorial.
The back showcases the lives of the Japanese within the camps.
Their unsuccessful attempts at showing their allegiance have failed and the despair shows on their gold and brown faces.
However, hope follows despair.
The Japanese can only dream of freedom as barbed wire surrounds them, but they are not broken.
The memorial shows the attempts that are made by the Japanese prisoners to eke out a living.
Boys form boy scout troops and salute the flag.
Japanese men fight the wars of the United States while eating out of their helmets.
Prisoners build their quarters and live in horse stalls.
The Japanese are imprisoned, but they were not deterred until they were finally freed.
It captures a dark time in U.S. history and the struggles of Japanese Americans living in it.
One side displays the freedoms and passions that the Japanese once had being stripped from them.
The memorial displays the Taiyo Maru, a ship filled with hopeful immigrants, on the left.
The scene pans to the right which displays how these hopefuls made their living.
They farmed, traded and lived in tightly knit communities.
This way of life is disrupted by the officers of the law escorting the Japanese citizens to camps by the busload which was immortalized in bronze.
Families that were desperate to show their allegiance are depicted burning away artifacts of their heritage.
A little girl begs her father not to burn away her doll.
Signs adorn a number of family owned stores that read "Evacuation Sale."
The futile desperation of these families is captured on this side while a row of barbed wire run across the top and wraps around to the reverse side of the memorial.
The back showcases the lives of the Japanese within the camps.
Their unsuccessful attempts at showing their allegiance have failed and the despair shows on their gold and brown faces.
However, hope follows despair.
The Japanese can only dream of freedom as barbed wire surrounds them, but they are not broken.
The memorial shows the attempts that are made by the Japanese prisoners to eke out a living.
Boys form boy scout troops and salute the flag.
Japanese men fight the wars of the United States while eating out of their helmets.
Prisoners build their quarters and live in horse stalls.
The Japanese are imprisoned, but they were not deterred until they were finally freed.
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