Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Powell Wyoming. My name is Ben Murphy and I am a private researcher interested in the imprisonment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry during WWII. About 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, living along the West coast, were thrown into hastily constructed prison camps, ten in number, during the summer of 1942. One of these camps, Heart Mountain Relocation Center, was located between the little towns of Powell and Cody, Wyoming. This prison camp opened on August 12, 1942 when the first of nearly 11,000 Japanese prisoners were sent here from California and Oregon and closed on November 10, 1945 when they were thrown out to fend for themselves (the government having no interest in their fate). My interest in this camp happened because, as a kid (age 13) I lived at Heart Mountain from 1947 to 1950, this period, of course, occurring after the war was over and the camp's prisoners were released to try to pick up their lives interrupted by their imprisonment. In researching the history of this place, the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, whose museum and research center now sits at the site where the camp once stood (actually the museum sits across the main access road into the camp from where my family lived - in a barracks once occupied by the Japanese), has been a gold mine of research material. But the archives of all things associated with the evacuation-imprisonment-resettlement era is only a small part of its mission; a main goal is to ensure that the history of this shameful episode on our government's history isn't forgotten. It maintains an award-winning educational program whose purpose is to educate younger people about what happened here and why. It maintains contact with, and coordinates with other like-minded organizations, for example the Japanese American National Museum, located in downtown Los Angeles, the Japanese American Citizens League and the website Densho.com among many others, in this educational program. While documenting the past, the Foundation is also preserving it. Artifacts still exist at the site of the Heart Mountain camp; root cellars, several buildings once a part of the camp's hospital, and the hospital's boiler house and its iconic chimney and the one million-gallon water supply reservoir. The root cellars are being restored to their brand-new condition and the 75-foot chimney, in danger of collapse due to withstanding 70 years of Wyoming's infamous and brutal blizzards, has been stabilized and will be around for a hundred years. During the Chimney's stabilization process it was discovered that the chimney (75 feet high) was designed to be 90 feet tall, this changed occurring at the last possible minute during the camp's frantic construction. The Foundation's historical research continues. From personal experience the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is worthy of recognition for its multi-front activities to preserve and educate our Country on this important, but shameful, period of our history. It should be given every favorable consideration to be selected as a non-profit organization of high merit. Ben Murphy Private Researcher blarneycastlesaloon@gmail.com
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is making a real difference in this country, utilizing the “Power of Place” to tell the story of over 14,000 Japanese Americans that were unjustly incarcerated in Wyoming during World War II. A world class museum now stands at the site, and construction of the new Mineta-Simpson Institute at Heart Mountain will begin soon to expand the foundation's ability to reach more people and help future leaders understand how memories of the past are relevant to today's political issues.
I have invited hundreds of folks to the Heart Mountain. To a person they have been moved, informed and inspired by the stories of the people who lived through one of the most regrettable chapters of our history. Many visitors described the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center as the most powerful and impactful museums they have ever visited.
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is making a difference in this country by using the “Power of Place” where over 10,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated with out due process of law. A world class museum now stands at the site & we are expanding g our efforts by building the Mineta Simpson Institute.
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is a bipartisan organization that educates students and visitors about racial injustice.
Two of the key figures in the organization are the late Norman Mineta (Democrat) and Al Simpson (Republican) who's lifelong friendship started during WW2 at the Heart Mountain Wyoming Internment Camp with Norman as a detainee and Al at a Boy Scout jamboree.
The organization serves as an example of how bipartisanship can work, something we need in this country.
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation has been a leader in teaching the history of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. It has steadily developed its educational programming and built its museum, and it has set an example for other nonprofits working in this area.