Let it not happen again

On this day, 65 years ago, the first Japanese Americans to be interned during World War II were rounded up here on Bainbridge Island and sent to internment camps. They had few days to prepare and to sell or safeguard their possessions before leaving. Families with young children, elderly people, 227 in total from Bainbridge Island, boarded a ferry and were then boarded trains to an unknown destination.

In total, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were interned in what amounted to concentration camps during the war. Not one was ever convicted of espionage. As far as I know, none were even charged. Not one elected official spoke out against the internment.

The Bainbridge Island Review did speak out, though -- it was the only U.S. newspaper to editorialize against this mass violation of constitutional rights. Editors and publishers Walt and Millie Woodward did more than write editorials. They hired four young people within the camps to send back news of the people the Woodwards referred to as "our neighbors, who are away temporarily." Bainbridge Islanders heard about baseball scores at the camps, but more importantly, about the births, marriages, deaths of their neighbors and friends. This wise journalism kept the island community aware of the humanity of their Japanese-Americans neighbors, who in turn returned to the island in higher proportions than to most other communities once the war was over.

Today, at the point where the ferry landed on Bainbridge Island's shores, the Japanese American community hosted asolemnn commemoration. This land is being turned into a national memorial to the internments under the slogan Nidoto Nai Yoni. "Let It Not Happen Again."

Today, survivors of the internment were applauded. Neighbors and friends who supported them spoke, including the Woodwards' daughter, Mary Woodward. And unlike this time 65 years ago, political leaders were here to honor those who were so dishonored by their government and to support the building of the memorial.

And as both former Governor Gary Locke and U.S. Representative Jay Inslee pointed out, the lesson, "Let it not happen again," is a vital -- today more than ever -- for a democracy that turns its back on racism and chooses freedom over fear.