The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

Landmark Day for Heart Mountain
Saturday, July 7, 2007

Photos by BACON SAKATANI
Former internees and their families help unveil a plaque designating Heart Mountain, site of a Japanese American concentration camp, a National Historic Landmark on June 23.

Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and his wife Deni, observe a plaque erected in his honor. Mineta was interned with his family at Heart .

The internment camp at Heart Mountain, Wyo. was officially designated as a National Historic Landmark on June 23. Not only is the distinction the highest recognition bestowed on property by the federal government—but since only four percent of all properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places—Heart Mountain will now be afforded funds and government protection that were not available before. Now, the site’s importance in America’s history, as well as its significance in the Japanese American community, can be preserved forever.

Campsite properties now recognized with the NHL designation, include the 73 acres maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation (the four remaining buildings and hospital complex) and the 50 adjacent acres purchased by the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation. These structures are all that remain of the site where 11,000 people of Japanese ancestry were held against their will for three years during World War II.

MountainPresenting the colors.

Several representatives of the various groups responsible for securing the NHL title were on hand to speak during the dedication ceremony, including a speech from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. There was also a presentation of colors by the Buffalo Bill Young Marines, an invocation and benediction service, and a rendition of the national anthem.

“I was quite impressed by it,” said Mike Hatchimonji, who lived in Heart Mountain from 1942-1945 and attended the dedication ceremony. “One of the speakers said, ‘hatred corrodes the container it is carried in,’ and I thought that was a very eloquent statement. I want specifically to thank them for all their efforts to preserve the memory of the campsite. This recognition by the National Park Service was well deserved. I think we needed that.”

Hatchimonji estimates around 200 people attended the dedication, most of whom were Caucasian. Several of the people most vital to obtaining the NHL dedication in fact, were not only non-Japanese American, but also locals born after the war, when the site was no longer operational.

Efforts by the local population and organizations like the HMWF continue today. A $5.5 million fundraising campaign has been established for the construction of an interpretive learning center to be built on the original campsite. The 11,000 square-foot interactive museum will have an extensive collection of genealogical information, as well as written histories of Heart Mountain through the periods before, during, and after the war. To date, the HMWF has raised $750,000 towards their goal as they continue to actively pursue funds.