The Manzanar Oral History Project documents the World War II experiences of Japanese Americans at Manzanar, the other nine relocation centers, and related stories. It captures the personal accounts of former internees, War Relocation Authority staff, military police, and Owens Valley residents. The project focuses on immigration, settlement, evacuation, camp life, and resettlement from 1900 to the present. The project also documents other historical eras at Manzanar including Owens Valley Paiute life, ranching, and the Manzanar orchard community.

The story of Manzanar is not one story. It is the collection of 10,000 lives and 10,000 stories. Oral history interviews honor individual experiences and unique perspectives that offer a better understanding of what happened at this site.

Manzanar National Historic Site partners with Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project (www.densho.org) and others to record interviews, preserve archives and make them available online for public use.

	Archie Miyatake			Arthur Yamada
		Learn how Archie improved his family’s barrack apartment			Playing marbles was a rite of passage for young boys, even behind barbed wire. Click on Arthur to learn more.
		Learn about “the secret” Archie's father shared with him in camp			Share Arthur's first ride in a Manzanar firetruck
					Learn about kendo
	Chiyeko Matoba			John Wakamatsu
		Discover what a graduation ceremony is like in an internment camp			Share his father’s experience as a Japanese American soldier visiting parents behind barbed wire at Manzanar
					Share sergeant Wakamatsu’s encounter with a former Marine after the war
	Ken Miyamoto			Mary Ichino
		Learn about his run-in at the Manzanar judo dojo with  a tough bunch in camp			Find out about “the controversial letter” she and her friend wrote in camp
	Rosie Kakuuchi
		Learn how Rosie became a catcher for the “Dusty Chicks" and what happened when they took on the WRA men