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I volunteer at Manzanar I like
volunteering at Manzanar I volunteer at
Manzanar for month alone that's not a
streak site I volunteer at Manzanar
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I volunteer at Manzanar because it's an
honor to meet the visitors that we get
all over the state from all over the
world and share with them the story of
all the amazing history at Manzanar
starting with Native Americans through
the Apple community and ending with the
incarceration of the japanese-americans
it's an important and tragic and amazing
story that is very fulfilling to work
with I volunteer at Manzanar because I
love the hands-on experience of
historical preservation hi my name is
Michelle and I like volunteering at
Manzanar because I believe it's
important for us to remember our history
and what has happened
in our past so that way we don't make
the same mistakes as before
I also remember going to Manzanar when I
was a child and it was just dirt one
little building and just dirt and I
remember my dad telling me this is man's
knower and what happened during that
time and I just looked at that dirt I
was like wow okay but it just didn't
really click very well because all I saw
was dirt and I thought man it's a shame
that I can't see the buildings that were
there and then years came by about four
or five years ago by Manzanar again and
saw that there were replica buildings
and there was a museum and I thought it
was really amazing that we were able to
have this audio tour and to be able to
see pieces and at one point I had the
opportunity to do some archaeological
work and the volunteer experience there
was an opportunity that I just thought I
couldn't pass up
and so I went I took my daughter and my
my young brother and we really enjoyed
it it was very dirty Mindy but I mean
the things that we found even if it was
just a little marble was amazing to see
it just brought back that history and
and it brought back some ties and as a
veteran it really connected to
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when I was - pulley and how I felt
within those walls in Iraq and I could
think back I mean there were times
turning our digs when I took a long walk
to the museum just to use a flushing
toilet and not brought back memories -
from Iraq's traveling you know a block
or 1/4 mile just to use a restroom but
just the feeling of what was life to be
in in a cage basically and then the
difference is that I knew that even
though we were getting shot into by
enemy combatants our own people weren't
shooting at us and it just really hit
home that the people in Manzanar didn't
they didn't have that luxury that I had
knowing that my people our people
weren't going to shoot in at us because
in manzanar they never knew when the
government was going to give the order
to get rid of them and luckily the
United States didn't make a decision
like Germany did at the time and as a
teacher I find that being able to put
your hands on for the experience being
able to walk through or hearing it or
hearing the voices the recordings and
the videos are so important and they
make such an impact of your
understanding about history and what
went on and what other people
experienced so as as much as I can I go
I will go and I'll continue to volunteer
in manzanar so thank you for giving me
this opportunity to speak about my
experience and have a great day
I volunteer at Manzanar because I first
learned of the internment program from
my high school history teacher mr.
Luffman in the early 1970s I was
appalled at the idea that our government
could abridge citizens human and civil
rights simply on the basis of of their
ethnicity fears later in the mid 70s as
I traveled up highway 395 through Owens
Valley to access the mountains in the
desert I saw Manzanar I went there and a
few years ago I began to notice in the
obituaries in the Los Angeles Times
mentions of japanese-americans who had
been interned in the camps and who then
went on to serve in the United States
Army or upon release returned to their
communities to resume lives and and
productive lives at that we need to
remember we need to honor we need to
respect these people we need to never
let it happen again and I play a very
small role part in keeping this alive
but it must be it must be kept alive and
brought to future generations thank you
very much my name is Bob Pavlik
California
I transcribe and translate interviews of
family members who are incarcerated
culture and also translate museum
collections such as artifacts paper
documents from Japanese into English
I've loved here at Manzano because I
believe it is important for all of us to
learn from history to repeat mistakes of
the past advancing our for 20 years for
many reasons among them being number one
I have a passion for all the National
Park Service locations because they tell
the story of America
number two manzanar is the most unique
of the thirteenth sites in which I have
volunteered because it has the unique
timing in which the people and now their
ancestors were affected by his presence
are alive to tell the firsthand stories
about the people conditions conflicts
losses readjustments long-term effects
and other experiences of the
japanese-americans
they could only be known by those who
are there from a personal standpoint to
hear the firsthand stories of internees
have shared along with the emotion that
went along with their telling them adds
a new dimension to the reading material
that is available about that unfortunate
time it is also most helpful in relating
to the general public when the
internment was all about many Americans
and most foreigners are unaware of a
circumstance in existence and many
foreign visitors have commented that
only Americans could point out what they
did wrong manzanar has been fortunate
over the years to have a most
professional and dedicated staff to
gather and document those unfortunate
times that will be so vital for
generations to come
they have been an honor exceptional
hello
I am gardener a landscaper will never
forget when I'm participating there's a
palpable feeling of something intangible
I've made lasting friendships
there's a lot of exertion
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I'm always thinking about my next trip
to the east of us here especially
I highly recommend
help the nature and I wanted to be in
the Sun I volunteer at Manzanar for
deeply personal reasons
my grandparents kikunosuke and Aiko awry
and my father
su Tomo arrived and my great aunt and
uncle Jack and Alice awry and my cousins
Madeleine Akio Kenji and azo were all
incarcerated at Manzanar block 33
barrack for apartments 3 and 4 I
volunteer not only to learn more about
the incarceration of Japanese Americans
my family in particular like so many
others my father seldom if ever spoke of
that time but also to reach out to
others about this often forgotten part
of America's history I volunteer in the
hope that I can personalize this history
and make it even more relatable to the
visitors who come through the door
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you