MANZANAR Historic Resource Study/Special History Study

COMMENCEMENT OF MANDATORY EVACUATION: EVACUATION OF BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

The first compulsory exclusion order under the Army evacuation program was issued on March 24, 1942, three days following the enactment of Public Law 503 providing criminal penalties for disobeying Executive Order 9066. The exclusion order applied to the largely agrarian and fishing Japanese community, consisting of about 54 families, on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, some ten miles west of Seattle, Washington, near the strategically-sensitive Bremerton Naval Base. In a sense, the Bainbridge Islanders were used as "guinea pigs" by the Army "in a kind of dress rehearsal for the full scale evacuation which was to come." The 227 Bainbridge Islanders were evacuated directly via a lengthy train trip to Manzanar, because the Puyallup Assembly Center on the Washington state fairgrounds, the nearest assembly Center site to their homes, was not ready for occupancy, and the Manzanar assembly or reception center was the only camp to be open at the time. 54]

The exclusion order directed "that all persons of Japanese ancestry, including aliens and nonaliens, be excluded from that Portion of Military Area No. 1 described as 'Bainbridge Island,' in the State of Washington, on or before 12 o'clock noon, P.W.T., of the 30th day of March 1942." The order stated that exclusion would be accomplished in the following manner:

(a) Such persons may, with permission, on or prior to March 29, 1942, proceed to any approved place of their choosing beyond the limits of Military Area No. 1 and the prohibited zones established by said proclamations [Public Proclamations Nos. 1 and 2] or hereafter similarly established, subject only to such regulations as to travel and change of residence as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by this headquarters and by the United States Attorney General. Persons affected hereby will not be permitted to take up residence or remain within the region designated as Military Area No. 1 or the prohibited zones heretofore or hereafter established. Persons affected hereby are required on leaving or entering Bainbridge Island [after 9 a. m., March 24, 1942] to register and obtain a permit at the Civil Control Office to be established on said Island at or near the ferryboat landing [at the Anderson Dock Store in Winslow].

(b) On March 30, 1942, all such persons who have not removed themselves from Bainbridge Island in accordance with Paragraph 1 hereof shall, in accordance with instructions of the Commanding General, Northwestern Sector, report to the Civil Control Office referred to above on Bainbridge Island for evacuation in such manner and to such place or places as shall then be prescribed.

(c) A responsible member of each family [preferably the head of the family or the person in whose name most of the property was held] affected by this order and each individual living alone so affected will report to the Civil Control Office described above between 8 a.m. and 5 p. m. Wednesday, March 25, 1942 [to receive further instruction].

The exclusion order went on to state that any "person affected by this order who fails to comply with any of its provisions or who is found on Bainbridge Island after 12 o'clock noon, P.W.T. of March 30, 1942" would be subject to the criminal penalties provided by Public Law 503. Alien Japanese would "be subject to immediate apprehension and internment."

The exclusion order also included specific "Instructions To All Japanese Living on Bainbridge Island." Among other things, these instructions included a list of topics for which the Civil Control Office was equipped to assist the Japanese population:

1. Give advice and instructions on the evacuation.

2. Provide services with respect to the management, leasing, sale, storage, or other disposition of most kinds of property, including farms, livestock and farm equipment, boats, tools, household goods, automobiles, etc.

3. Provide temporary residence for all Japanese in family groups, elsewhere.

4. Transport persons and a limited amount of clothing and equipment to their new residence, as specified below.

5. Give medical examinations and make provision for all invalided persons affected by the evacuation order.

6. Give special permission to individuals and families who are able to leave the area and proceed to an approved destination of their own choosing on or prior to March 29, 1942.

The exclusion order noted that there were two conditions "imposed on voluntary evacuation." The destination must be outside Military Area No. 1, and arrangements must "have been made for employment and shelter at the destination."The instructions stated further that provisions "have been made to give temporary residence in a reception center elsewhere [Puyallup Assembly Center]." Evacuees who did not go to "an approved destination of their own choice, but who go to a reception center under Government supervision, must carry with them the following property, not exceeding that which can be carried by the family or the individual." These items included:

(a) Blankets and linens for each member of the family;

(b) Toilet articles for each member of the family;

(c) Clothing for each member of the family;

(d) Sufficient knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls, and cups for each member of the family . . . .

All items "carried will be securely packaged, tied, and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions received at the Civil Control Office." No contraband items, as earlier specified by the Department of Justice, could be carried.

The instructions noted that the federal government "through its agencies will provide for the storage at the sole risk of the owner of only the more substantial household items, such as ice boxes, washing machines, pianos, and other heavy furniture." Cooking utensils and other small items "must be crated, packed, and plainly marked with the name and address of the owner." All persons going to a reception center would "be furnished transportation and food for the trip." Transportation "by private means" would "not be permitted." Instructions would "be given by the Civil Control Office as to when evacuees must be fully prepared to travel." [55]

Tom G. Rathbone, field supervisor for the U.S. Employment Service, filed a report after the Bainbridge Island evacuation, with recommendations for improvement that provide a picture of the government's approach to the first compulsory exclusion order. On March 23, a meeting, attended by representatives of various federal agencies, was called by the WCCA, which oversaw operation of the civil control station on Bainbridge island, to outline evacuation procedures. After setting up the station on the island, the government group "reported to Center at 8:00 a.m for the purpose of conducting a complete registration" of the "persons of Japanese ancestry who were residents of the Island." Rathbone recommended that more complete instructions from Army officials would clarify many questions, including what articles the evacuees could take with them, the climate at the designated assembly center, and the timing of the evacuation. He also suggested better planning so that the evacuees would not be required to return repeatedly to the center. He observed that "such planning would have to contemplate the ability to answer the type of question [sic] which occur and the ability to give accurate and definite information which would enable the evacuee to close out his business and be prepared to report at the designated point with necessary baggage, etc." Further, Rathbone noted that disposition of evacuees' property following evacuation caused the most serious hardship and prompted the most questions. He reported:

We received tentative information late Friday afternoon to the effect that it was presumed that the Government would pay the transportation costs of such personal belongings and equipment to the point of relocation upon proper notice. When this word was given to the evacuees, many complained bitterly because they had not been given such information prior to that time and had, therefore, sold, at considerable loss, many such properties which they would have retained had they known that it would be shipped to them upon relocation. Saturday morning we receive additional word through the Federal Reserve Bank that the question had not been answered and that probably no such transportation costs would be paid. Between the time on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning some Japanese had arranged to repossess belongings which they had already sold and were in a greater turmoil than ever upon getting the latter information. To my knowledge, there still is no answer to this question, but it should be definitely decided before the next evacuation is attempted. [56]

The Bainbridge [slanders were the last Japanese Americans in Military Area No. 1 to have the option of moving voluntarily to an approved place of their choosing. While their evacuation was in progress, DeWitt issued the aforementioned Public Proclamation No. 4 on March 27 ending voluntary migration at midnight, March 29. [57] After the Bainbridge evacuation, exclusion orders (a copy of a typical order may be seen on pages 59-62) were issued for each of the other 98 exclusion areas in Military Area No. 1, each area having approximately 1,000 resident Japanese. In establishing the boundaries of the exclusion areas, efforts were made to adhere "to the established policy of keeping family units unbroken, and to move communities with similar social and economic backgrounds to the same Assembly Center." The evacuation process commenced with the issuance of a civilian exclusion order, a document which defined the exclusion area and provided the immediate sanction for its evacuation. The order specified the exclusion date and the registration date or dates. The order was accompanied by specific "Instructions to Evacuees" concerning their responsibilities in the evacuation program. In each area covered by a civilian exclusion order, a civil control station, staffed with representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank, Farm Security Administration, associated agencies of the Federal Security Agency, including the U.S. Employment Service, U.S. Public Health Service, and Bureau of Public Assistance of the Social Security Board, was set up under the direction of the WCCA to provide information, administer registration and medical inspection, render financial assistance, and process the evacuees. These stations were usually located in a public hail, school gymnasium, or auditorium and, whenever possible, they were near the center of the Japanese population of the area being evacuated.

The exclusion orders were issued in a sequence based upon several considerations. Military security requirements were the primary considerations, but other issues were involved as well. The ability of the assembly or reception centers to receive evacuees, the availability of civilian personnel in the various agencies which participated in the operation of control stations, the distance evacuees were to be moved, and the availability of rail or motor transportation were important factors in determining the order in which the exclusion areas were evacuated. Areas were evacuated in the order indicated by the civilian exclusion order number "with but a few exceptions."

No publicity was permitted concerning the evacuation of any specific unit area prior to the posting of the civilian exclusion order within the affected area. The evacuation operations within most exclusion areas covered a period of seven days. Exclusion orders were posted throughout the area from 12:00 noon the first day to 5:00 a.m. the second day. Registration of all persons of Japanese ancestry within the area was conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the second and third days. Processing on preparing of evacuees for evacuation occurred from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the fourth and fifth days. Movements of evacuees in increments of approximately 500 took place on the sixth and seventh days. [58]

The last of the exclusion orders (No. 99 affecting a small area near Sacramento) that required the departure of Japanese Americans who resided in Military No. 1 was issued on June 6, 1942. Thus, this phase of the evacuation was completed nearly six months after Pearl Harbor and two days after the stunning American naval victory over Japan in the Battle of Midway Island. [59]