• New Brochure for Memorial (11/04)

A beautiful new 8-page (slim jim size) brochure has been produced to aid in fund-raising activities. It outlines the event on March 30, 1942, when 227 Bainbridge Island men, women and children of Japanese ancestry were removed from the island, gives details of the designs for the $4 million Memorial, and encourages the public to send their tax-deductible donations to the Bainbridge Island WWII Nikkei Internment and Exclusion Memorial Committee at PO Box 10355, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110-0355. Printing of the brochure, said Committee Chair Clarence Moriwaki, was made possible by donations. To view photos and illustrations in the brochure, please click on "GALLERIES" in the menu at the left. For copies of the brochure or more information, please contact Clarence at (206) 855-9038 or by email at clarence@bainbridge.net

Inside Pages

Outside Pages

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• B.I. Rotary Club Donates $25,000 (9/1/04)

• Joanne Croghan and other officers from the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island presented a $25,000 check for the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial at the monthly BIJAC meeting on Sept. 1. With the donation, the $4 million memorial project to date has raised about $560,000. Your appreciation and thoughts can be expressed with an email to info@bainbridgeislandrotary.org

The Entry Gate constructed by the non-profit Timber Framers Guild inpartnership with the Bainbridge Island Nikkei WWII Internment and Exclusion Memorial Committee is now on display near the Bainbridge Island Post Office. Blending traditional Japanese elements with a distinctly Pacific Northwest influence, Timber Framers Guild members John Buday of Cascade Crest Designs, Lakebay, and Keven Coker of Timbercraft Homes, Port Townsend, designed the gate to be hand-build in the timeless classic tradition without bolts, fasteners or brackets from donated Port Orford cedar timers and logs, with the roof featuring both cedar shingles and copper that will age to a fine patina. Bainbridge Islander Johnpaul Jones and Jones and Jones Architects donated a scale model.

For more photos of the gate, please CLICK HERE.

The public is welcome to view the gate at its temporary location next to the Winslow Post Office main entrance. The gate will serve as an informational kiosk featuring plans of the memorial, eventually being moved to the memorial during its construction. The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community and the Memorial Committee are deeply grateful for the generous and immedasusrable donation of time, skills and materials from John Buday, Keven Coker, Johnpaul Jones and his firm Jones and Jones, and Bob Sproul of South Fork Lumber in Oregon.

We cherish their friendship, enthusiastic support and infectious can-do spirit that represents the very best in what makes our community — and the memorial project — so very special and a lasting legacy for future generations.

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• Memorial Groundbreaking (4/30/04)

A groundbreading ceremonty for the Memorial was held on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 between 10:30 and 11 a.m. at the end of Taylor Avenue at Eagledale Harbor . For photos of the ceremony, please click on "GALLERIES" in the menu at the left.

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• Eagledale Cedar Tree (10/04 & 9/17/03)

PHOTO: BAINBRIDGE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The western red cedar tree located at the Eagledale ferry landing received some loving, but not-so-tender care on (date) when a group of volunteers did such and such... (photos to come!!!)

As reported in 2003, the tree was accepted to the National Register of Historic Trees, following a nomination submitted by Bill McKnight and the greater Japanese-American community of Bainbridge Island, Washington. The World War II Nikkei Exclusion Memorial is under consideration as a national memorial by the National Park System, an effort sponsored by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Bainbridge Island).

"This grand tree is not only a living witness to a sad day in American history when constitutional rights were ignored and our nation banished Japanese Americans to concentration camps, but it is also a fitting and lasting symbol of the strength of these patriotic people who, even in the face of losing their freedom, fought and died for our country and never lost their love and loyalty for America," said Inslee.

The tree can be seen in several wartime photographs. Today, it consists of four trunks with a total diameter of 276 inches, a spread of 54 feet and an estimated age of 100 years. It has been declared a Historic Tree by American Forests, and shall tell its tale as a witness to human suffering in the National Register of Historic Trees. That register is maintained by American Forests, founded in 1875. It is the nation’s oldest nonprofit conservation organization and the world leader in tree-planting for environmental restoration. A complete listing of AMERICAN FORESTS’ Historic Trees is available at www.historictrees.org.

Thanks to Clarence Moriwaki for sending this to us, and his work in helping to make it happen!

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11/12/03 [Press Release]

UPDATE ON FUNDING TO PURCHASE LAND FOR PRITCHARD PARK

U.S. Representative Jay Inslee announced that the House of Representatives approved $2 million in the Omnibus bill this week for the acquisition of land to create Pritchard Park, and Senators Murray and Cantwell were pleased to announce that $2 million for the land acquisition was also included in the Senate Omnibus bill, scheduled to be voted upon early next year.

The funds are included in the annual appropriations bill for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and will be included in the NOAA's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

Inslee commented, "Pritchard Park is going to be a tremendous public asset, and I am glad that Congress saw the importance of helping with the purchase of the land for the Park."

"I am pleased to have supported this important land acquisition project in the Senate," Senator Murray said. "Not only will these federal funds help support the creation of a park for our communities to enjoy, but they will help protect our wildlife, stimulate our economy and preserve the history of our region."

According to Senator Maria Cantwell, "These funds will help complete a win-win for Bainbridge Island, by preserving open space for public use, and providing additional funds for the cleanup of the property."

The 50-acre tract, formerly known as the Wyckoff property, is located on the south side of Eagle Harbor and is owned by a trust. Proceeds from the sale of the tract will be used to continue the ongoing environmental cleanup activities on the site. The park is to be named Pritchard Park, after the former GOP leader from Bainbridge Island, Joel Pritchard. A memorial to the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, for which private funds are being raised, is also planned for the site.

The total cost to acquire the 50 acre property is estimated to be $8.0 million. To date, the city, county and state have pledged $2.5 million to buy the land. In addition, local supporters have launched a $2.0 million private fundraising effort. The federal funds in the fiscal year 2004 appropriations bill will mark a significant step forward to complete the project. Local partners include the City of Bainbridge Island, Kitsap County and State of Washington, the Trust for Public Land, the Bainbridge Island Land Conservancy, and other private parties.

Contact: Scott Baker (Inslee): (202) 226-7454, Charla Neuman (Cantwell): (206) 220-6400, Alex Glass (Murray): (202) 224-2834

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10/29/03 [Press Release]

WYCKOFF LANGUAGE INCLUDED IN LEGISLATION

From: U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee

Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:40 PM

Subject: Wyckoff Language Included in Legislation

Washington, D.C.-- U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray expressed their support for the language supporting a study of the Eagledale Ferry Dock that was included in the Interior Department's Conference Committee Report. The legislation, which represents a compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate versions of the bill, is up for a vote in the House of Representatives this afternoon.

Said Inslee, "This is good news for us here on Bainbridge Island. I believe that due to this expression of support by Congress, the Park Service will continue to fund the study until it is completed. I commend Senators Cantwell and Murray for their hard work in getting this language inserted in the Senate version of the bill."

Said Sen. Maria Cantwell, "I was pleased that the Senate bill included my language to begin work on the study. I will continue to work to secure the necessary funds to complete the study. This is another step forward in our effort to honor the sacrifices of Japanese Americans during World War II."

Said Sen. Patty Murray, "The Eagledale study is the first step toward recognizing a site of great importance and I am proud it has won Congressional approval. We look forward to seeing the results of everyone's hard work, especially Congressman Inslee and Senator Cantwell."

The language in the Conference Committee Report states, "The Committee encourages the Service to commence work on recently authorized resource study of the Bainbridge Island Eagledale Ferry Dock, as well as on the general management plan for the Old Spanish Trail."

Contact: Sara O'Connell or Scott Baker, (202) 226-7454

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6/6/03 [Memo]

$1.5 MILLION FROM STATE FOR MEMORIAL

Clarence Moriwaki confirms that Olympia has approved $1.5 million for the Memorial (see 4/18/03 article, below). Clarence writes: "I'm thrilled to let you know that last night [6/5/03] the state legislature passed the capital budget, and the memorial got $1.5 million! I'm going to find out how the distribution is done, but this is just incredible news."

The community owes a heap of thanks to Clarence and the many others who helped in this effort. There's much more to do, so let's all pitch in!

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11/20/02 [Memo]

OLYMPIA WILL HELP FUND MEMORIAL

Both the Washington State House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate have released budgets calling for considerable funding for the Nidoto Nai Yoni Memorial.

It is felt that the fact that both state houses have recognized the project indicates that we are virtually guaranteed to receive substantial assistance. Estimates range from a minimum of $200,000 to a maximum of $2 million, though the actual amount will likely be somewhere in the middle. A decision is expected to be announced shortly. The funds are earmarked for acquisition and/or development of the Memorial; there are plans to solicit matching funds through a WWRP Grant.

If you are interested in meeting with Clarence Moriwaki and others to discuss the future of these funds, please contact him at (206) 855-9038 or by email at clarence@bainbridge.net.

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11/20/02 [Press Release from U.S. Senator Patty Murray]

MURRAY PUSHES MEMORIAL STUDY

FOR BAINBRIDGE ISLAND THROUGH SENATE

Memorial would honor JapaneseAmericans Imprisoned During WWII

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—Early this morning, the U.S. Senate passed the Japanese-American Memorial Study Act, authorizing the Interior Department to explore the possible designation of Bainbridge Island's Eagledale Ferry Dock as a national memorial within the National Park Service. The memorial would honor over two hundred Bainbridge Island residents who were sent from the Ferry Dock to American internment camps during World War II, and would preserve the site as a public park.

With only a handful of her colleagues remaining in the Chamber, Murray stayed on the Senate floor until the wee hours of Wednesday morning to push the measure through the Senate. If not for Murray's patience and perseverance, the bill would not have passed. "We can't undo the injustice suffered by Japanese-Americans during World War II, but we can give them the recognition they deserve and an eternal reminder to all that (his should never happen again," Senator Murray said.

"A national memorial at the Eagledale Ferry Dock would be a lasting tribute to over two-hundred Bainbridge Island residents imprisoned in wartime internment camps. This study is a first step towards realizing that vision."

Designating the Bainbridge Island site as a national memorial would both commemorate its historical significance and preserve the land for future generations. The Eagledale Ferry Dock is located on me Wycoff property, which is undergoing cleanup as a Superfund site. Senator Murray supports efforts underway to turn the entire Wycoff site into a public park.

"Our national parks protect areas of unique value in America, I'm proud this new study will help Washingtonians recognize and protect apart of our history that we must not forget," said Murray.

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9/16/02 [Seattle Times Editorial]

NIDOTO NAI YONI

A Bainbridge Message

Sixty years have distanced us from the America that permitted the unconstitutional imprisonment of 120,000 people, mostly Americans, who shared an ancestry with our nation's enemies.

But the lessons we have learned since President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered people of Japanese descent moved to internment camps no doubt has helped our nation in the year since Sept. 11.

Despite some isolated attacks on Middle Eastern-looking people and the government's detention of noncitizen suspects without charges, most people now understand that people who look like our enemies or practice the same religion might actually be our friends and fellow citizens.

That's why Congress should approve a proposal to study whether to make the Eagledale Ferry Dock on Bainbridge Island a national monument. This was the starting place of the internment, dictated by Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 shortly after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

The first of the internees were from Bainbridge Island. Removed from their homes by the U.S. Army, 227 men, women and children boarded the ferry Kehloken on March 30, 1942, bound for Seattle and, ultimately, the Manzanar internment camp in the Mojave Desert.

The prisoners, who included 13,000 Washington state residents, weren't given their freedom for three years.

A House subcommittee Thursday approved the proposal by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, and sent it to the House floor. The Washington Legislature earlier unanimously approved a memorial encouraging Congress to create the national memorial.

A small marker now exists at the site, the result of efforts by the Bainbridge Island World War II Nikkei Internment and Exclusion Committee.

But supporters of the monument are hoping to give this disappointing part of our American history a higher national profile. They would like to see a larger memorial and an interpretive center, named for its simple, important message:

Nidoto Nai Yoni. "Let It Not Happen Again."

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

www.seattletimes.com

Your Life. Your Times.

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March 30, 2002 [News Item]

COMMEMORATIVE MARKER UNVEILED

A granite marker to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first forced removal of Japanese-Americans to concentration camps and to honor all excluded Japanese-Americans was unveiled on March 30, 2002 at the site of the former Eagledale ferry landing, located at the end of Taylor Road across the harbor from the Winslow ferry dock.

Some 500 people attended the event, including more than two dozen Nikkeis who lived on Bainbridge Island in 1942, welcomed by the energetic beat of the Seattle Kokon Taiko drum group. The ceremony was emceed by Clarence Moriwaki and featured moving speeches and inspirational words from many speakers including Gov. Gary Locke, who proclaimed "Nikkei and Remembrance Day" for the state of Washington; U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, the sponsor of a bill to designate the site a national memorial; Mary Woodward-Pratt, daughter of the late Walt and Milly Woodward, former publisher of the Bainbridge Review; BIJAC president Dr. Frank Kitamoto and other important guests. Amy Nakata and others read the names of every Nikkei family member exiled from the island.

Frank remembers two things that especially moved him during the ceremony: "One was the singing of 'Don't Fence Me In' by Emily Groff at a very deliberate, somber tempo. To see former internees in the crowd mouthing the words along with her brought tears to my eyes. The other was something brought to my attention after the ceremony. During the reading of the names, black crows started cackling louder and louder. When the names were all read and a moment of silence was called, the crows stopped their noise. An old Native American legend states that ravens will appear when you remember your ancestors. When this was told to me, it sent a shiver down my spine."

Text inscribed on the Memorial granite marker at the Eagledale site:

"On the morning of March 30, 1942, 227 Bainbridge Island men, women, and children, most of them United States Citizens, were escorted by armed soldiers to the Eagledale ferry landing. They solemnly boarded the ferry Kehioken and departed on a lonely journey with an unknown destination and fate. They were exiled by Presidential Executive Order 9066 and Civilian Exclusion Order No. 1 because they were Nikkei—persons of Japanese ancestry. With only six days' notice they were forced to hastily sell, stosre, or make arrangements for all of their possessions, businesses and property. They were allowed to take only what they could carry or wear. They were the first of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and experience three years of unconstitutional internment. Not all were interned. Some were drafted into the military, some were unjustly imprisoned, and some moved away—but all were forbidden to remain. We dedicate this site to honor those who suffered and to cherish their friends and community who stood by them and welcomed them home. May the spirit of this memorial insire each of us to safeguard constitutional rights for all."

—Nidoto Nai Yoni "Let It Not Happen Again."

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February, 2002 [Legislation]

JAPANESE AMERICAN MEMORIAL LEGISLATION

This legislation has been passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President George W. Bush. Text: 107th CONGRESS 2ND Session H.R. 3747 Bainbridge Island Japanese-American Memorial Study Act of 2002 Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. DICKS, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. WU, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. McDERMOTT, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BAIRD, and Mr. LARSEN of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources on February 13, 2002

A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the site commonly known as Eagledale Ferry Dock at Taylor Avenue in the State of Washington for potential inclusion in the National Park System. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS

a. Short Title — This Act may be cited as the "Bainbridge Island Japanese-American Memorial Study Act of 2002".

b. Findings — The Congress finds the following:

During World War II on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, setting in motion the forced exile of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans. In Washington State, 12,892 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry experienced three years of incarceration, an incarceration violating the most basic freedoms of American citizens.

On March 30, 1942, 227 Bainbridge Island residents were the first Japanese Americans in United States history to be forcibly removed from their homes by the U.S. Army and sent to internment camps. They boarded the ferry Kehloken from the former Eagledale Ferry Dock, located at the end of Taylor Avenue, in the city of Bainbridge Island, Washington State. The city of Bainbridge Island has adopted a resolution stating that this site should be a National Memorial, and similar resolutions have been introduced in the Washington State Legislature. Both the Minidoka National Monument and Manzanar National Historic Site can clearly tell the story of a time in our NationÍs history when constitutional rights were ignored. These camps by design were placed in very remote places and are not easily accessible.

Bainbridge Island is a short ferry ride from Seattle and the site would be within easy reach of many more people. This is a unique opportunity to create a site that will honor those who suffered, cherish the friends and community who stood beside them and welcomed them home, and inspire all to stand firm in the event our nation again succumbs to similar fears. The site should be recognized by the National Park Service based on its high degree of national significance, association with significant events, and integrity of its location and setting. This site is critical as an anchor for future efforts to identify, interpret, serve, and ultimately honor the Nikkei persons of Japanese ancestry influence on Bainbridge Island.

SEC. 2. EAGLEDALE FERRY DOCK LOCATION AT TAYLOR AVENUE STUDY AND REPORT

a. Study — The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out a special resource study regarding the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of designating as a unit of the National Park System the property commonly known as the Eagledale Ferry Dock at Taylor Avenue and the historical events associated with it, located in the town of Bainbridge Island, Kitsap County, Washington.

b. Report — Not later than 1 year after funds are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the study.

c. Requirements for Study — Except as otherwise provided in this section, the study under subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c))