The Identification Card Project

The camp identification card project involves the making of an identification card on someone who was in an internment camp during World War II. We are targeting individuals who were between the ages of 6 and 21 at that time.

What is the purpose of the identification card?
The card, actually a small 8 page booklet, would be given out by the National Park Service at Manzanar National Historic Site to students and educators who are studying the internment camps as a way to make their experience at the site and in the classroom more personal and meaningful.

In 1999, 30 cards of former Manzanar internees were produced and the responses from the students and the teachers have been very positive. It is a way to connect students to individuals who lived at the camp.

What are the benefits of the card?
1. Students will be able to identify with a specific person in a camp, thus making their study more realistic and interesting.
2. Students will be able to see how someone handled a damaging experience.
3. Students will be able to experience the fear, prejudice, uncertainty, and reality of the evacuation order and relocation from the perspectives of an internee who lived in a relocation camp.
4. Students will be able to contrast and compare their own lives to those of people in the camps who were approximately their same age.
5. Students will have a lasting memento of their visit to the site or study and be able to share this with other students and family members.

What will the card look like?
The card will be approximately 3-4 inches wide and 5-5 ½ inches long.

The first page will have a small photograph of a person from a camp, plus a brief description of their family history in the U.S. in first person narrative, and reactions and/or experiences following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The space will accommodate approximately 80-100 words.

The text on page two will capture a memory of the evacuation in first person narrative that could include personal items left behind or taken to camp, stories their parents told them about leaving, or a scene they remember during the evacuation. This page will contain a maximum of 120-140 words.

Page three will describe a memory of the camp experience. It could be a happy memory about hobbies or events, a sad experience or memory, a poignant memory about someone or something, or an angry or frightening event, etc. Approximately 120-140 words.

Page four will describe the after effects of the camp experience. It could include what happened when they returned home or moved elsewhere, problems or feelings they had later, choices they made in life as a result of the camp experience, or any impact they want to share. Approximately 120-140 words.

Each card will be different depending on the individual participating. The goal for the project is to match up a card with the sex and approximate age of students visiting the Manzanar site or a classroom of students studying the internment camps (a different card for each student in a classroom). The cards will be broken down into two categories: elementary school age and middle school/high school age. Cards depicting camp experiences of college students may be used in upper high school or college classes.

Following a visit to the site or classroom study of internment camps, the class could discuss the different ways people had in dealing with this experience and gain a better understanding of the complexity of the issue. This will also help students to think about their own response to the relocation program and whether or not this could happen again to a person or group in their lifetime.

How would the cards be given out?

Teachers may write or phone Manzanar National Historic Site requesting information on Manzanar and other camps. If they want to use the Identification Card Project with their class, matching age groups with identification cards will be included as a part of the school activity program sent for classroom instruction.

If teachers plan a site visit with their students to Manzanar the cards will be given at the start of their tour by the ranger and be part of their experience at the site. The students will be allowed to keep the ID card.

Some individual stories may be profiled on the education section of the Manzanar NHS website so students around the country can access the information. Website profiles will include only first names to protect the privacy of the individuals.

Will the students know who I am?

Identifying information such as current name or town on the person in the card will be limited to what has been written by the person. Addresses on request by the school or student will not be divulged unless the signed permission is given to do so.

What do I do if I want to participate in this project?
1. Contact Manzanar National Historic Site at P.O. Box 426, Independence, CA 93526-0426, call 760-878-2194- ext. 12. We will send you information and permission forms.

2. Please try to locate a photo of yourself at the WWII time period - or close as possible. You may duplicate the photo and send a copy or send the photo and it will be duplicated at NPS expense. Please include the following information: the camp you were in, the camp address, and your family number if you know it.

3. Fill out the information and permission forms completely and return them to Manzanar NHP. Be sure to sign the forms and include your phone number and full address in case we have questions.

4. You will receive a copy of the identification card when it is finished.

Your participation helps to tell an important chapter in American history. Thank you!

INFORMATION FOR YOU CARD
Below are some page by page suggestions that may help you in filling out the information for your identification card. These are only suggestions. Please feel free to add information not included in these suggestions.

Page 1, History of your family in the U.S. and reaction following the bombing of Pearl Harbor - 80-100 words.
1. When did your family come to the United States?
2. What did your parents do for a living? How many people were in your family? What did they do? (student, job, etc.)
3. What grade and school were you attending?
4. Were you involved in any school activities? Did you have any hobbies?
5. How did your life change after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? Were you treated differently? Did your parents lose their jobs?
6. How did you feel? Were there things you didn't want to do?

Page 2, The Evacuation Experience - 120-140 words.
1. How much time did your family have before reporting for relocation?
2. What happened to your family's belongings? Were they stored, sold, etc.?
3. Did anyone help your family take care of the family pets and property, i.e. neighbor, friends, religious groups or organization?
4. What did you take with you and how did you choose what to take?
5. What was the most difficult thing to leave behind?
6. Do you have an image, scene, or conversation in your mind that you can describe about leaving home for relocation?
7. Did you go directly to camp or to an assembly center? Which assembly center?
8. Do you remember your family number?
9. How many members of your family were sent to camp? Were all your family members sent to the same camp?
10. To which camp were you sent?
11. What do you remember about the trip?

Page 3, Camp Life - 120-140 words. Image that you are leading a student on a tour through the camp. What one or two things would you most want to share with them about your life there?
1. What was your first impression of the camp?
2. Where did your family live in camp? (This is important - students may want to go there.)
3. Did you attend school? How did it compare to your former school?
4. Were your friends from home at the same camp?
5. Did you have a memorable contact with the MP's or administration at camp?
6. What did you enjoy doing at the camp, i.e. games, being with friends, fishing, dancing, judo, art, etc.?
7. Is there a particular person, holiday, or event that stands out in your mind?
8. Did you get sick at camp, meet someone very special, learn something new, write poetry, etc.? (Share your poetry)
9. Were you a cheerleader, prom queen, football or baseball player, a good student, etc.?
10. Did you join any groups or clubs?
11. Were you shy, mischievous, miserable, happy, quiet, bitter, etc.?
12. What were your goals or future plans?
13. Were you drafted?
14. Did you get married or go steady in camp?
15. What was the one thing in camp that lifter your spirits?

Page 4, After effects of the camp - 120-140 words.
1. When did you leave camp and where did you go?
2. Did you or your parents talk about the camp once you left?
3. How did people react to you when you were back home?
4. How did camp affect you, i.e. your attitude, character, sense of goal in life, things you would never do because of the experience, etc.?
5. Did the camp experience affect your choice of career?
6. Did some things become more important to you after camp, i.e. priorities, feelings, goals, opinions, organization, etc.?
7. If you were a mentor to a student, what advice might you give them as a result of your experience at camp?

For more information, please contact:
Manzanar National Historic Site
P.O. Box 426, Independence, CA 93526-0426
Phone 760-878-2194, ext. 12