H74.615.5

Document. Description: Document, U.S. Dept. of Interior, Relocation Authority, certificate of completion of the 10th grade, Henry Yoshimoto, awarded at Colorado River Relocation Center, July 25, 1945. From the History Information Station: Object: Certificate for the completion of 10th grade awarded to Henry Yoshimoto on July 25, 1945, at Poston, Arizona. Issued by the United States Department of Interior, Relocation Authority. History: The justification for the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry to detention camps was to protect the nation against espionage and sabotage. The order, however, was applied to "all persons" of Japanese ancestry, regardless of age. Newborn babies and children who could not possibly be a threat to national security were included in the mass roundup. Some 2,000 children under 5 years of age, and 15,500 children under 10 years of age were shipped off to detention camps. Poston was one of ten permanent detention camps where 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry were interned during World War II. 19,534 Japanese Americans from Southern California, Monterey Bay Area, Sacramento County, and Southern Arizona were interned at Poston. Gift of Gene Takeshita

Used: U.S. Department of the Interior | Henry Yoshimoto