Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Watch the 20-minute documentary, then explore the thought-provoking exhibits chronic-
ling the stories of the families that languished here yet built a vibrant community. After-
wards, take a self-guided 3.2-mile driving tour around the grounds, which includes a re-
created mess hall and barracks, vestiges of buildings and gardens, as well as the haunting
camp cemetery.
CAMP OF INFAMY
On December 7, 1941 - a day that, according to President Roosevelt, would forever live in
infamy - Japanese war planes bombed Pearl Harbor. The attack plunged the US into
WWII and fanned the flames of racial prejudice that had been fomenting against Japan-
ese Americans for decades. Amid fears of sabotage and espionage, bigotry grew into full-
blown hysteria, prompting Roosevelt to sign Executive Order 9066 in February 1942; an-
other day that now lives in infamy. The act stated that all West Coast Japanese - most of
them American-born citizens - were to be rounded up and moved to relocation camps.
Manzanar was the first of 10 such camps, built among pear and apple orchards in the
dusty Owens Valley near Independence. Between 1942 and 1945, up to 10,000 men, wo-
men and children lived crammed into makeshift barracks pounded by fierce winds and
the blistering desert sun, enclosed by barbed wire patrolled by military police.
After the war the camp was leveled and its dark history remained buried beneath the
dust for decades. Recognition remained elusive until 1973, when the site was given land-
mark status; in 1992 it was designated a national historic site, and in 2004 a long-awaited
interpretive center opened. On the last Saturday of every April, former internees and their
descendants make a pilgrimage ( www.manzanarcommittee.org ) to honor family mem-
bers who died here, keeping alive the memory of this national tragedy. For a vivid and
haunting account of what life was like at the camp, read Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's
classic Farewell to Manzanar.
Lone Pine
A tiny town, Lone Pine is the gateway to big things, most notably Mt Whitney (14,505ft),
the loftiest peak in the contiguous USA, and Hollywood. In the 1920s cinematographers
discovered that nearby Alabama Hills were a picture-perfect movie set for Westerns, and
stars from Gary Cooper to Gregory Peck could often be spotted swaggering about town.
 
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