The Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II is a National Park Service site to commemorate the experience of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and their parents who patriotically supported the United States despite unjust treatment during World War II. We paused as we walked from Union Station to The Mall. Neither one of us remember seeing it before, but according to Wikipedia it was completed in 2001. The wall features inscriptions of the names of the ten major internment camps where over 120,000 Japanese Americans were confined. There are also three panels that feature 1) the names of Japanese Americans who died fighting in World War II, 2) inscribed writings by Japanese American writers such as Bill Hosokawa, 3) quotes by presidents Harry S. Truman and Ronald Reagan. It is a place of respite in the hurly-burly of big city life. The inscription at the top seems particularly appropriate today.
