The Denver MileHi Chapter of the JACL commemorated A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE of the signing of Executive Order 9066 which incarcerated all Japanese Americans from California, Oregon and Washington during World War II in 1942.

Mile Hi JACL presented a play by Ken Mochizuki at the Simpson United MethodistChurch, Sunday, February 19, 2006, titled 'Within the Silence' and performed by Allison Hiroto. A DVD montage of pictures and photographs from Puyallup Assembly Center in the Puyallup County Fairgrounds in Washington and Minidoka Internment Camp in southeast Idaho served as a back drop for Allison, as a 15 year old girl telling her family's story of their removal by the U.S. Army from Seattle, Washington.

Her father's separate incarceration in a Dept. of Justice Camp in Montana andthe divergent directions taken by her two older brothers; one who served in the all Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team and ultimately dies in battle; the second brother refused to sign the loyalty oath, Questions 27 and 28, who objected to being questioned on loyalty while behind barbed wire. All residents of Minidoka, as  was the case in the other 9 Internment Camps, who were 17 years of age and over, male or female, citizens or non-citizens were required to sign. Both followed their conscience.

Living Voices is a Seattle based theater group, Allison Hiroto is one of its performers, which seeks to educate around the issues of WWII and the loss of civil rights of Japanese Americans.

Allison’s parents, Dr. Don and Mrs. Betty Hiroto of Santa Monica, CA, and sister Kimberly (new member of the Mile-Hi JACL Chapter) attended the event.

Visit the website for Living Voices.  The Teacher Study Guide for this presentation is:

http://www.livingvoices.org/teachguide/wtsguide.pdf