Executive Order 9066

WHEREAS, On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1
issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the United States 2
military to forcibly remove and incarcerate more than 120,000 persons 3
of Japanese ancestry from the west coast, including 12,000 Japanese 4
American residents of Washington state; and 5
WHEREAS, The first civilian evacuation order gave Japanese 6
Americans from Bainbridge Island, Washington, less than one week to 7
leave behind homes, personal belongings, farms, businesses, friends, 8
and family and report to detention centers like Camp Harmony on the 9
grounds of the Washington state fair in Puyallup, where hastily 10
converted horse stables housed the evacuated families; and11
WHEREAS, These detention centers were temporary quarters for the 12
evacuees while the United States military department constructed mass 13
incarceration sites for Japanese Americans located in remote inland 14
areas of the United States; and 15
WHEREAS, This drastic policy of forced removal allegedly aimed to 16
prevent acts of espionage and sabotage by Japanese Americans who were 17
deemed untrustworthy and disloyal to the United States; and18
WHEREAS, On March 23, 1943, the war department organized the 19
442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese 20
Americans, most of whom reported for military duty from the 21
concentration camps in which they and their families were held as 22
prisoners surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards; and23
SENATE RESOLUTION
8687
By Senators Hasegawa and Saldaña
p. 1 8687
WHEREAS, More than 12,000 volunteers responded to questions 1
about their loyalty and patriotism by amassing a battle record 2
unparalleled in United States military history, earning a 3
collective seven Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of 4
Honor, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished 5
Service Medal, 588 Silver Stars, more than 4,000 Bronze Stars, 6
22 Legion of Merit Medals, 145 Soldier's Medals, 9,486 Purple 7
Hearts, 16 decorations from France and Italy, and, in 2010, the 8
Congressional Gold Medal; and 9
WHEREAS, Equally loyal and patriotic Japanese Americans 10
fought to protect our constitutional rights and liberties 11
through dissent, like University of Washington student and 12
Auburn native Gordon Hirabayashi who was arrested, convicted, 13
and imprisoned for defying the military curfew on select 14
civilians and refusing to evacuate when ordered; and15
WHEREAS, In 1982, the congressional commission on wartime 16
relocation and internment of civilians found "no military or 17
security reason" for the incarceration of persons of Japanese 18
ancestry, but determined the cause as "racial prejudice, war 19
hysteria, and a failure of political leadership"; and20
WHEREAS, Through this travesty of justice, Japanese 21
Americans suffered immense economic loss of property and assets, 22
experienced immeasurable physical and psychological harm as 23
individuals and collectively as a community, and were deprived 24
of their constitutional liberties without due process of law; 25
and 26
WHEREAS, In 1979, Washington state congressman Mike Lowry 27
introduced H.R. 5977 to provide reparations and an apology to 28
the Japanese American incarcerees, thus initiating a 10-year 29
legislative quest that ended when President Ronald Reagan signed 30
the Civil Liberties Act of 1988; and 31
WHEREAS, With this historical lived experience, the Japanese 32
American community has become an authentic and powerful voice 33
for equity and justice and against racism, bigotry, and hate 34
through the message "Nidoto Nai Yoni – Let it Not Happen Again";35
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State 36
Senate pause to acknowledge the 84th anniversary of the signing 37
of Executive Order 9066, to recognize and remember Japanese 38
p. 2 8687
American veterans, incarcerees, and civil rights activists from 1
the state of Washington, and to reflect upon the 2
responsibilities of the phrase, "…with liberty and justice for 3
all"; and 4
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 5
immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the 6
Nisei Veterans Committee, Densho, the Japanese American Citizens 7
League, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington 8
state, and the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American 9
Experience. 10
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate, 11
do hereby certify that this is a true and 12
correct copy of Senate Resolution 8687, 13
adopted by the Senate 14
February 18, 2026 15
SARAH BANNISTER 16
Secretary of the Senate 17
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