Japanese Internment in Colorado
The Aftermath of Amache
Background Knowledge
Amache, present day
From September 1, 1945, to the closing date of October 15, 3,105 persons went back to their former homes or have relocated elsewhere. The last to leave the center a group of 126, left on two special coaches for Sacramento and nearby towns. At the peak of its population, Amache had 7,567 residents. 412 births were recorded and 107 deaths during the three years of its existence.
In 1943, Marion Konishi, valedictorian of Amache High School, asked her classmates, “What does America mean to you?” Though she and her classmates went to high school behind the barbed wire and watchtowers of the internment camp, she found hope in the ideals America was founded on.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up of Nisei (American-born sons born to Japanese immigrant parents) was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the entire history of the U.S. Military. They fought for a country that had made their families prisoners in internment camps.
Thirty-one Amache internees lost their lives in combat.
In 1983, the Denver Central Optimists Club placed a memorial in the Amache cemetery, listing the names of those 31 soldiers who died while serving in the 442nd, fighting for freedom and democracy.
President Gerald Ford rescinded Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1976, stating, “An honest reckoning must include a recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning from our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, ‘We must do so if we want to avoid repeating them.’”
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act that offered a formal apology and gave $20,000 in reparations to most surviving internees.
For many, no amount of money could replace the loss of freedom, income, property, and strain on families who lived in prison-like conditions.