Amache: The Story of Japanese Internment in Colorado during World War II

by Robert Harvey

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing the evacuation of over 100,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast to "settlement camps" inland. The unethical dislocation of so many lives has been documented in several poplular books, but none, until now, have focussed on the internment camp known as Amache, located on the southeastern plains of Colorado. This book not only presents the story of Amache within the broader context of World War II, but also details the effect the camp had on surrounding towns and Colorado in general. Based on extensive research as well as interviews with many of the survivors (many who chose to remain in Colorado), this book statisfies a long-standing need for a comprehensive history of this shameful episode in our history.

Hardcover

First published December 29, 2003

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. It should be required reading in Colorado schools.

[Einar Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

On October 15, 1945, the city known as Amache became a ghost town. At 3 p.m. 126 people left the Grenada rail station on California specials and other coaches for points around the state and nation. Camp Amache, Colorado’s Japanese Relocation Camp, closed after three years. At its peak in the fall of 1942, the population was over 7,500. While its closure was good, the process displaced thousands of Americans who had been displaced by the US Government in 1942. It showed, again, how little the nation appreciated these citizens and their culture.

Robert Harvey’s book Amache: The Story of Japanese Internment in Colorado During World War II was both engaging and overwhelming. Harvey’s research was thorough; he includes excerpts from countless primary sources as well as memories from men and women who lived at Amache as children. He confronts the racism that created and enforced Executive Order 9066 while also revealing the humanity of the men who implemented it. My daughters and I visited the remains of Camp Amache earlier this summer so that we could honor its place in our state’s, nation’s, and species’s histories. This book is another way to honor it, remember the people forced to live there, and strive to prevent such discrimination and oppression in the future. I recommend this book.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this comprehensive study of the Amache Internment Camp. Includes photos and descriptions of the camp layout, providing an understanding of the general day-to-day experience of the internees, as well as many personal stories before, during, and after. Because the camp was hastily torn down soon after the war ended and, in my experience, not that many people are aware of its existence, this is an invaluable reference. This was written shortly after 9/11, and the author makes apt comparisons to attitudes experienced by Americans of middle eastern descent. It was also fascinating to learn about the woman for whom the camp was named – information completely new to me.

[Don Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many people today know about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Honestly, a cynical side of me asks how many care? Unfortunately, more should as this provides an example of how wrong it is to classify a group of citizens as enemies of the is country...when they are not. This book is about one of several camps established by the US government after the surprise attack in Pearl Harbor and the pacific basin by Japan in December of 1941. The reactionary panic by the public and the government to question the loyalty of US citizens who had established lives ( and some even been born and assimilated in this country ) is explained in this book and in particular one camp that was established on the lonely prairies of southeast Colorado. Yes, even then there was a " not in my backyard " of sentiment of locating the camps across the western US as citizens were uprooted from their homes and businesses mostly from the west coast and relocated to camps literally set up within months holding thousands of Japanese Americans for the duration of the war. The book goes into great detail about the process to establish this camp, and indirectly others, and the decision to politically and socially make outcasts of US citizens under the guise of suspicion and a frightened public. The war continued and the community of Amache that evolved is richly outlined by the voluminous research the author has done. Including the ability to work outside the camp clouded by some in the surrounding area who despised the camp inmates taking labor farm work away from "citizens" to others who appreciated their commitment to hard work. There is irony noted in the history of the camp. As the war dragged on and the need for soldiers increased, the army came looking for volunteers. Those who, in my opinion had every reason to refuse, were transferred to a camp in California designated for trouble internees. There were also others who served with honor. Eventually, the war ended. And Camp Amache and other camp internees, enemies of the United States, were released to return to their lives and in many cases start over. Some decided to return to Japan. Eventually the camps were dismantled with a plaque marking where Amache had been located on the dry plains of Colorado. There are many stories to the building of this country. Some good, some not so good and some that should not have happened. This book is an examination of what we need to remember as we look to the future and build a better country. There are photographs in the book, a personal preference... wish there were more.

This book took me some time to finish for various reasons. None attributed to the book itself. A personal interest. My parents knew a couple, members of our church, that were internees and became successful local farmers. How I wish I had asked questions some of which were asked in this book. As an addendum to this review, it is hard not to link this moment in history to what is currently occurring in this country ( terms 45 and 47 ) and the pure political greed in a campaign to motivate voters to blame a class of citizens and immigrants for problems, crime and " taking good paying jobs." Amache is another example in our history and how wrong that thinking is. Even in a moment of hysteria bought on by an unprovoked attack. It is never that simple nor should it happen in constitutional democracy founded on its rule of laws with protection for all against an alternative of manipulative autocratic and dictator governments.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eye opening and educating review of Japanese internment camps during WWII

[Ana Soler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paints a picture of what life there was like at the time. Very informative. Read it before actually visiting the site which brought a lot of depth, and feeling to that experience.

[Nex Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s very enlightening but it’s definitely a slow read. i can’t tell if i couldn’t put it down because it was my homework or if it’s because i was intrigued by the content.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still reading this one, selected after a trip to Amache where my mother worked during WWII. After first reading a couple of books on the internment camps by Lillian Baker and feeling that something was amiss, this book tells, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. I would love to buy this book for my mom, but it's out of print. Anybody know where I can get one?