Manzanar

Latrine and Mess Hall 

If you find yourself in the Eastern Sierra, I highly highly recommend taking a few hours and stopping by the Manzanar National Historic Site. It's tells the story of out not too distant past that we like to conveniently skip over. If you're not familiar with the significance of this site, this is where, shortly after the bombing of Hawaii by Japan in 1941, some 10,000 Japanese, most with US citizenship, were incarcerated. This site is one of ten sites around the country that would come to hold over 110,000 people, again most of which were US citizens, from 1942-1945.

The official reason why these citizens were incarcerated was because there was supposedly a fear that these people were working for the Empire of Japan at the time. There was never any evidence to support that back then, and none has been found since. Funny how, using that logic, there were no concentration camps for Germans during this time period. Oh, wait, because they're not of a different skin color.

Barracks

It blew my mind seeing some of the video or photos of citizen of the United States living in their home, working at their job one day, then 48 hours living here being able to only take what they could carry.

Basketball

It was amazing to see how the incarcerated were able to make this incredibly hot area in the summer and bitterly cold area in the winter home.

Cemetery and Monument

There were 2 deaths at Manzanar. A riot in December 1942 claimed the 2 lives with 10 injured.

Monument to console the souls of the dead

The literal translation is "soul consoling tower"

Senbazuru

1000 origami cranes are thought to bring a wish from the gods. Origami cranes are all around the monument