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

        WHEREAS, sixty-five 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 16, 2009, to be

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

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 in Boise on this 16th day of February in the year of our Lord two-thousand and nine and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred thirty-third and of the Statehood of Idaho the one hundred nineteenth.

BEN YSURSA
SECRETARY OF STATE