Standing Up

On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 authorizing military commanders to designate "military areas" at their discretion, "from which any or all persons may be excluded."  The following month, the removal of Japanese-Americans began on the West Coast.  Italians and Germans were also interned under the Executive Order, but for those groups it was limited to non-citizens present in the U.S., while the majority of Japanese internees were American citizens.

I recently became aware of the story of Ralph Lazo, pictured on the right in the photo below.

Ralph is the only non-spouse white person known to have been interned.  He did so voluntarily.  A 17-year old California high school student, when Lazo learned that his Japanese-American friends were going to be interned he was outraged, and joined them on the train to the Manzanar internment camp (after telling his father he was going to summer camp!).  Ralph, interned for more than two years, was elected Senior Class President at Manzanar High School, despite graduating at the bottom of a class of 150.  He left the camp in August 1944 when he entered the U.S. Army, serving in the Pacific Theater, where he received the Bronze Star for heroism in combat while in the Philippines, and being discharged with the rank of Sergeant.  Returning to the U.S., he obtained his college degree and became a teacher.  Ralph, of Mexican and Irish ancestry, was also active in encouraging Hispanics to go to college and vote.  He also helped to raise funds for the reparations lawsuit filed by Japanese-Americans against the federal government which resulted in Congressional action granting reparations, along with a formal apology, in 1988.

Ralph Lazo passed in 1992.  A life well lived.