Former Poston internee Maria Uyeda, left, meets Talyia Carter, Miss Colorado River Tribes, center, and Lauryn Miller, Little Miss Colorado River Tribes, after a ceremony at the Poston Monument Memorial near Parker, Ariz. More than 17,000 people of Japanese ancestry were held at the Poston internment camp, also known as the Colorado River War Relocation Center, during World War II. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Former internee Ruth Okimoto visits the burned-out remains of the auditorium at the Poston internment camp. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Former internee Frances Kuraoka peers into a structure at the Poston internment camp. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Former internees Ruth Okimoto, left, and Lilyan Kiyomoto walk through one of the schools at the Poston camp. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Visitors to the Poston internment camp pass the remains of the auditorium. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Former internee Ruth Okimoto, left, meets Gertrude B. Van Fleet, 83, who used to visit the Poston internment camp with her father. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
