Name/Title
DocumentEntry/Object ID
1994.80.189.34Description
Handwritten document by Shi Nomura.
Now...
Today within the campsite, grotesquely shaped trees which had been planted by the internees stand dying, having borne witness to a once thriving community. Many rocks and cement walkways indicating entrances into living quarters and the paths leading to once beautiful gardens are found in sad neglect around the desolate campgrounds. The blood and sweat shed by the imprisoned internees upon the parched sands of Camp Manzanar have long been blown away by the constant winds of the valley. From the old campsite where only the whispers and echoes of days long past, and where sobs and laughters of our yesteryears whistle eerily through the disheveled branches of the pear and apple orchards and the cottonwood trees, I walk the paths of memory, careful not to arouse or disturb the sleeping ghosts of a nightmarish past. In spite of the recollections of bad memories and experiences suffered during the years of internment, my dedication and involvement in the Manzanar Project is to offer my contribution of time and effort to the new acquaintances made during those camp days which resulted in a perfect marriage and my present happy state. The Manzanar episode happened a long time ago, and to some it may no longer exist, but to me, it is only a memory away. --ShiCollection
Shiro and Mary Nomura Collection