http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/12/10/opinion/letters/126466_15.txt
"In response to Byrd Golay's comments concerning the Minidoka Internment Camp monument:
Most of your talking points were about the hard treatment of our Gis in the Japanese prison camps and your objection to the Minidoka Internment Camp monument. I agree, the Japanese Imperialists were brutal in the war and we rightfully defeated them.
You stated that the Japanese-Americans in the Minidoka Camp were not treated like our GIs were in the overseas Japanese prison camps. Well, of course not. They were not prisoners of war; 62 percent were American citizens.
You can't seem to get your facts right. You stated they walked out with a $25,000 bonus. Bonus you say? Wrong. It was $20,000 and it was called reparations paid to the surviving internees. Also, they didn't walk out with it; it was not given to them until some 50 years had passed.
According to you, the monument is to honor all Japanese in the world. Wrong. It is to honor the Japanese-Americans that were interned during the war and were denied the freedoms that you and I enjoyed. Also, don't forget the Japanese-Americans that spilled their blood in Italy fighting the Germans for our way of life.
You stated in your article, "Come on, Magic Valley, voice your opinion. This is a moral issue, wake up." Well, you definitely woke me up. I have no problem with the monument, but I can clearly see you have a problem. Remember, if you read your history, the United States government acknowledged the reason for putting the Japanese-Americans in the internment camps was race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership."
JERRY WALLACE
Twin Falls
Most of your talking points were about the hard treatment of our Gis in the Japanese prison camps and your objection to the Minidoka Internment Camp monument. I agree, the Japanese Imperialists were brutal in the war and we rightfully defeated them.
You stated that the Japanese-Americans in the Minidoka Camp were not treated like our GIs were in the overseas Japanese prison camps. Well, of course not. They were not prisoners of war; 62 percent were American citizens.
You can't seem to get your facts right. You stated they walked out with a $25,000 bonus. Bonus you say? Wrong. It was $20,000 and it was called reparations paid to the surviving internees. Also, they didn't walk out with it; it was not given to them until some 50 years had passed.
According to you, the monument is to honor all Japanese in the world. Wrong. It is to honor the Japanese-Americans that were interned during the war and were denied the freedoms that you and I enjoyed. Also, don't forget the Japanese-Americans that spilled their blood in Italy fighting the Germans for our way of life.
You stated in your article, "Come on, Magic Valley, voice your opinion. This is a moral issue, wake up." Well, you definitely woke me up. I have no problem with the monument, but I can clearly see you have a problem. Remember, if you read your history, the United States government acknowledged the reason for putting the Japanese-Americans in the internment camps was race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership."
JERRY WALLACE
Twin Falls
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