Japanese Can Attest Camps Were Real

* I must respond to Ron Walker’s letter (March 12), in which he states that Japanese Americans were not placed in concentration camps in the United States.

Mr. Walker apparently does not know the definition of concentration camp--”a camp where persons (as prisoners of war, political prisoners, or refugees) are detained or confined.” The definition does not include the words Auschwitz or Buchenwald, nor does it require that a certain level of atrocities be committed.

Over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including my U.S.-born parents, were confined in 10 “relocation centers” (a U.S. euphemism). They were, indeed, prisoners of war.

Many, like my uncle, hoped to prove their loyalty to the United States by serving (and dying) in the highly decorated 442nd Infantry Battalion, even while their families were incarcerated in remote and inhospitable locations.

Freedom is precious. Even if supplied with marginal food and minimal shelter, most Americans would not choose to live in a place from which they could not leave.

Mr. Walker says in his letter: “It’s time that citizens who actually participated in history stand up and speak out against those attempting to rewrite history for political purposes.”

Today I asked my parents if they thought they were in concentration camps.

Their response: “Heck, yes!”

They were there. Mr. Walker was not, and cannot presume to speak for them. Mr. Walker proves his own point--those who were incarcerated in America’s concentration camps must speak out, or people like him will rewrite history.

SANDRA HAYASHI MINNER

Placentia