Evacuee PropertyIn remembrance of Executive Order 9066, signed this day in 1942 by President Frankli

Evacuee Property

In remembrance of Executive Order 9066, signed this day in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, we share a passionate letter written by 25 year-old Yoshio Nakada.  Nakada was removed from his citrus ranch near Asuza, California, as a result of the creation of military exclusion areas along the west coast of the United States.  Nakada and his family were removed to the Los Angeles County fairgrounds, and later sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. Relocatees could only take what they could carry, and much of their property was subsequently sold at auction. The U.S. Department of Agriculture War Board for Los Angeles County wrote to Mr. Nakada encouraging him to sell his idle farm equipment rather than letting it go to auction. This letter is his response.

The full text of E.O. 9066 is available on archives.gov 

To learn more about the Japanese American experience, visit the Japanese American National Museum.

Series: Administrative Files Relating to the Sale and Requisition of Equipment Owned by Farmers of Japanese Ancestry, 1943 - 1945. Record Group 145: Records of the Farm Service Agency, 1904-1983 (National Archives Identifier 1487736)