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A Trip to Manzanar: One of California's Japanese Internment Camps
The Owens Valley, some 250 miles away, may be steeped in controversial Los Angeles history because of our water aqueduct, but it is a little less known for its role during World War II. The small town of Manzanar became one of the ten detainee military-style camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were sent. Another one was in Newell, California with the rest in other states. Locally, Santa Anita was an assembly site "where Japanese Americans were sent in preparation for eventual removal from the Pacific Coast," says the Japanese American National Museum.
Today, the site stands as a National Historic Site and was visited by LAist Featured Photos contributor David Kimbrough who shared these photos with us. It just so happens that the LA Times visited there, too, for a look back at how some of the internees spent their time.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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