PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.1 Fall 1998
The Japanese Internment Camp Near Kooskia, Idaho, 1943-1945
by Priscilla Wegars, Ph.D., University of Idaho
Abstract
The Kooskia (KOOS-key) Internment Camp is an obscure and virtually forgotten World War II U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) detention facility that was located in a remote area of north- central Idaho between May 1943 and May 1945. It held "enemy aliens" of Japanese ancestry from Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington, as well as Japanese from Peru, Mexico, and Panama. Although some of the 256 internees held camp jobs, most of these all-male, paid volunteers were construction workers for the present Highway 12 between Lewiston, Idaho and Lolo, Montana, parallel to the wild and scenic Lochsa River. "Digging in the documents" has produced INS, Forest Service, and Border Patrol photographs and other records. These, combined with internee and employee oral and written interviews, illuminate the internees' experiences, emphasizing the perspectives of the men detained at the Kooskia Internment Camp. This is an excerpt from a much longer, fully-footnoted manuscript entitled, "A Real He-Man's Job: Japanese Internees and the Kooskia Internment Camp, Idaho, 1943-1945." It and all materials generated by this project will eventually be housed in the Asian American Comparative Collection at the University of Idaho, Moscow.Background
Most people are familiar with the World War II hysteria that in early 1942 led to the incarceration of some 120,000 West Coast Americans of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens. In violation of their constitutional rights, these people, from infants to the elderly, were forcibly herded first into assembly centers, such as the euphemistically-named "Camp Harmony" in Puyallup, Washington, and then into one of the ten enormous War Relocation Authority concentration camp installations that mushroomed in inhospitable locations within seven states--Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.The Idaho one, called the Minidoka Relocation Center, was at Hunt, in the southeastern Idaho desert. Much less well-known are the Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Service's internment camps for so-called "enemy aliens." Following Pearl Harbor, three presidential proclamations made it possible to arrest and detain Japanese, German, and Italian aliens on no specific grounds and without the due process guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution.
Of 1771 people arrested immediately following the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, more than two-thirds were Japanese. They included Japanese community organization officials, language teachers, and priests, as well as "newspaper editors, and other identifiable leaders." Most of those arrested were taken to Fort Missoula, in Montana, and Fort Lincoln [at Bismarck], in North Dakota. By early March 1942 some 4000 aliens were incarcerated, mainly in those two locations. Most were later transferred to other alien internment camps operated by the Justice Department.
In all, there were at least 18 "temporary internment camps" and 9 "permanent" ones. These were separate and distinct from the War Relocation Authority's concentration camps for West Coast families. Besides Fort Missoula and Fort Lincoln, some of the other Immigration and Naturalization Service camps were in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Another was in northern Idaho, near Kooskia.
The Internees Arrive at Kooskia
On the morning of May 27, 1943 a "curious crowd" assembled at the Lewiston, Idaho, Union Pacific train depot. They had come to observe the arrival of what the Lewiston Morning Tribune blatantly called the "Jap special," a train carrying "[o]ne hundred-four Japanese, ...under the supervision of an inspector of the federal bureau of immigration and naturalization assisted by six husky, armed members of the border patrol...." These men were some of the several thousand Japanese community leaders who, more than a year previously, after Pearl Harbor, had been "rounded up," arrested, detained on no specific grounds, denied the due process guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution, and shunted from Fort Missoula or Fort Lincoln to internment camps in New Mexico and Texas.The Japanese on the train were being taken up the Clearwater River to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service's Kooskia Internment Camp. Internee Sakaye [Ed] Yoshimura described the journey in a letter to relatives interned at Poston, Arizona:
-
...we spent three days and three nights on the train playing poker-games, sleeping and enjoying the
scen[e]ry along the road through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and on to the
heart of the state of Idaho, we got of[f] the train at a little town in Idaho called Kooskia at about 5 p.m.
Then on a truck into the mountain[s] about 30 miles and we finally landed at our destination.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service's Kooskia Internment Camp utilized the buildings and facilities of the Canyon Creek Prison Camp, a work camp for federal prisoners who helped construct the Lewis and Clark Highway between 1935 and 1943.12 The federal prisoners were moved out in May 1943,13 and the Japanese internees began arriving a week later.
The Japanese who lived at the Kooskia Internment Camp from then until it closed in early May 1945 were all male, and all volunteers, and ranged in age from their low twenties to their mid-sixties. They came from both coasts, and from a variety of states, territories, and even countries. Despite their diverse backgrounds, different languages, and varied occupations, wartime anti-Japanese hysteria had brought them together. At northern Idaho's Kooskia Internment Camp they formed into a cohesive unit, defying racist stereotyping to win praise and admiration for their work ethic and their successful achievements. 14
Information Sources
The primary sources consulted for this project included photographs, local contemporary newspapers; records housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC, and information collected by U.S. Forest Service offices in the vicinity. I conducted oral and written interviews with two surviving Kooskia internees. One was James Isao Yano, aged 92, a former internee spokesman, and Koshio Henry Shima, formerly Shimabukuro, aged 74 and a Japanese Peruvian interned briefly at Kooskia. Two former employees and several descendants of deceased internees and employees also provided information. Although some local residents in the Kooskia area knew about the camp from its inception, and a few even worked there, the Kooskia Internment Camp has largely been forgotten since its closure more than 50 years ago. Standard reference works on the concentration camp experience often do not list it with other Immigration and Naturalization Service camps. The site of the Kooskia Internment Camp is some 400 miles from the location of Idaho's War Relocation Authority concentration camp, Minidoka, at Hunt. The Kooskia internees worked on construction of the Lewis and Clark Highway, a portion of the present U.S. Highway 12. Paralleling the path of the explorers for whom it was named, the Lewis and Clark Highway crosses the Bitterroot Mountains between Lewiston, Idaho and Lolo, Montana. The route met the wild and scenic Lochsa River at Lowell, and followed it nearly to the Montana border. The Kooskia Internment Camp was, and is, on Forest Service land, seven miles above Lowell. In 1982 the Clearwater National Forest made an effort to document it in greater detail. However, only former employees were interviewed at that time. While their perceptions are certainly important, they do not necessarily reflect what the internees themselves thought of the experience. Although volunteers, the internees were unconstitutionally incarcerated and were not free to leave. It is their perspective that this paper seeks to obtain.Reasons for Volunteering
According to the terms of the Geneva Convention, a 1929 document specifying how prisoners of war should be treated, internees could not be conscripted for this kind of work; therefore, they were all volunteers. Road work volunteers were paid $55 or $65 per month, with a $10 deduction for special clothing, while camp workers, in the kitchen, laundry, and so on, only received 80¢ per day. Consequently, there were few volunteers for camp work. By early May, 1943, 104 Santa Fe internees had definitely committed to Kooskia, and had solved the camp operation problem. They agreed to supply 25 men for the required kitchen, laundry, and other support tasks, by distributing all the income equally among the entire group.That information is contained in one of several documents reporting on visits by the Spanish vice- consul, Captain Antonio R. Martin. During World War II the United States severed diplomatic relations with enemy nations, so the Spanish government performed that function for Japan, particularly with regard to ensuring fair treatment for citizens of Japan who resided in the United States.
Taken as a whole, the Kooskia internees had a wide variety of reasons compelling them to volunteer for road work in this isolated region of Idaho. Where known, these fall into several main categories. Kizaemon Momii transferred to Kooskia because he hoped his son would be able to visit him there before joining the army. Kinzo Asaba and Shohei Arase volunteered for Kooskia because they wanted to be closer to their families, who were interned at Minidoka. James Yano was in the Santa Fe Internment Camp, and he "wa[n]ted to get away from [that] dusty, dry place." He also welcomed the opportunity to help out during wartime. As he put it, "I wanted [to] do something for my adopted country."
Kosaku Sato, who had owned a Seattle second-hand store, volunteered for Kooskia in order to pay the rent on his store; then his son could join the Army and not have to worry about the payments. Japanese Peruvian internees Koshio Shimabukuro and his father Taro were at Kenedy, Texas, where there was nothing to do. Koshio Henry Shima stated that it was "better to work - the time goes fast."
The Internees
Although newspaper accounts refer to the Kooskia internees as "both citizen internees and aliens," none were actually citizens. Instead, they were permanent resident aliens, denied citizenship by racist U.S. laws. A profile of the internees appeared in the Lewiston Morning Tribune in late September 1943: Some...have been in the United States for more than 40 years, some are graduates of American universities, and some do not speak English. Their average age is 37 and their average residence here is 25 years. Their peacetime occupations range from the professions to exporter, restauranteur [sic], fruit grower, jui jitsui [sic] instructor of police officers, mercantile operation, on down to common laborer. Some of them are fathers of American-born sons serving in the United States army...."By the time the Kooskia Internment Camp closed, in early May 1945, the internees had come from numerous states, including California, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington; from the then-territories of Alaska and Hawaii; and from Mexico, Panama, and Peru.28
Documents housed in the National Archives indicate that a total of 256 men were detained at the Kooskia Internment Camp, but not all at the same time.29 The first three internee groups totaled 134 Japanese,30 enough to get the project started. Some remained the entire two years, while others left and were replaced.
First Impressions
Shortly after their arrival at Kooskia, the internees began writing to friends and relatives. Their first impressions related mostly to the scenic surroundings, their accommodations, the food, the potential for recreational activities, and the lack of a barbed-wire fence. In their letters, the internees revealed a deep appreciation for the natural scenic beauty of the Kooskia Internment Camp's location. Hisashi Imamura wrote, This place is such scenic and beautiful place that I have never seen before. In front of the camp, the strong current of water...is streaming fast,...and are many trouts. What a beautiful scenery! Beyond my words! Undoubtedly I believe this is ideal place for health.Yoshito Kadotani wrote, This camp is built along the branch-stream and a clear stream with a pleasant splashes, crashing hard against rocks or patting lightly on trees, joins into main stream in front of the camp. In its vicinity greenish trees, firs and cedars, and common brakes [ferns] grow thick and rank, and freshness of the air is unsurpassed. Of course, there isn't that unpleasant fence. Really it's a paradise in mountains! It reminds me so much of Yosemite National Park.
Sakaye [Ed] Yoshimura eloquently expressed his feelings for his new surroundings: ...it's just wonderful, so beautiful...wild flowers, birds, water-falls, fountain of youth and even the deers and the bears are roaming all over the place....
Living Conditions
Internee Hisahiko Teraoka wrote about the accommodations, Rooms are heated with steam. Each one is provided with a private locker, a table and chair are shared by two a[nd] the beds are double decked. The floors are painted brown, the walls varnished and the ceilings are white plaster boards. There are many windows which give us plenty of light and ventilation. He also praised the food quite highly, writing, The food is extra good and every day we get something new from the oven, such as buns, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, cookies or doughnuts. Everything ta[s]tes mighty good. However, Kuromitsu Bamba was not so pleased. He wrote, "But foods is not so good, so we are floored." The underlined part was censored out of his letter. Several internees looked forward to the potential recreational opportunities, particularly fishing. Yoshio [Charles] Yoshikawa wrote, River runs down near our camp and stream run by barrack. We almost could do our trout fishing from bed, but the river are high right now. But in the very near future we could do fishing. According to officer's explanation there are plenty trout here. Oh, Boy! It won't be long before we have live trout for our parties. ... Last night I dreamed myself already caught thousands trouts." Yoshito Kadotani mentioned several other recreational possibilities, and concluded, "...I believe there isn't a single person who is not satisfied.
Conclusions
The Kooskia Internment Camp was a successful experiment in utilizing Japanese alien internees as volunteers for building a portion of the Lewis-Clark Highway between Idaho and Montana. Besides helping a much-needed road progress towards completion, the project enabled the unconstitutionally-incarcerated internees to again become productive members of society. Although the work was tiring, difficult, and sometimes even dangerous, the men appreciated the opportunity to receive fair wages in exchange for performing useful work. Once their early grievances were resolved, they became exemplary workers, earning praise and respect from their Caucasian supervisors and from Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. Doing the road work allowed them to regain much of the self-respect that many of them must have lost through the humiliation of having been so unjustly interned. At 92, former internee spokesman James Yano commented, "We worked hard because we enjoyed the job we were doing, and I'm very happy to say I was one of them."This excerpt was edited due to space considerations. For the complete text and for a complete bibliography that accompanies this excerpt, contact the auithor at Asian American Comparative Collection, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843-1111. 208-882-7905; FAX: 208-885-2034; e-mail: pwegars@uidaho.edu.