WHEREAS, we are a nation of immigrants, made up of diverse people; and

        WHEREAS, sixty-four years ago, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066; and

        WHEREAS, during World War II, 120,000 civilians of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, were incarcerated in internment camps; and

        WHEREAS, almost 10,000 of the total 120,000 civilians of Japanese descent were incarcerated in an internment camp called Minidoka or “Hunt,” in Jerome County, Idaho; and

        WHEREAS, the former Minidoka site is now Minidoka Internment National Monument; and

        WHEREAS, almost 1,000 Japanese-American men from the Minidoka internment camp fought in the United States Army; and

        WHEREAS, Minidoka had the highest enlistment rate and highest casualty rate of all ten major internment camps in the United States; and

        WHEREAS, volunteers from Minidoka were part of the units known as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Battalion during WWII and highly distinguished themselves in combat; and

        WHEREAS, the United States government has recognized the injustice of the evacuation and internment; and

        WHEREAS, Japanese-Americans in our communities have continued to contribute to our society and have distinguished themselves in all walks of life;

        NOW, THEREFORE, I, C.L. “BUTCH” OTTER, Governor of the State of Idaho, do hereby proclaim February 19, 2007, to be

A   D A Y   O F   R E M E M B R A N C E

in Idaho, to commemorate the anniversary of the internment and as a time to reflect on the need for tolerance, especially in times of national emergency and war.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Idaho at the Capitol in Boise on this 19^th day of February in the year of our Lord two-thousand and seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred thirty-first and of the Statehood of Idaho the one hundred seventeenth.       

BEN YSURSA
SECRETARY OF STATE