Rohwer War Relocation Center
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| Rohwer War Relocation Camp | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Arkansas |
| County | Desha County |
| Founded | 1942 |
| Area | |
| - City | 15.8 sq mi (41.1 km²) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 8,475 |
| - Density | 534.1/sq mi (206.2/km²) |
| Time zone | Western (UTC-7) |
The Rohwer War Relocation Center was a World War II Japanese American internment camp located in rural southeastern Arkansas, in Desha County. It was in operation from September 18, 1942 until November 30, 1944, and held as many as 8,475 Japanese-Americans forcibly evacuated from California. Little remains of the camp today. The camp cemetery survives; it has a monument to Japanese-American war dead from the camp, and also a monument to those who died at the camp.
Perhaps the camp's most prominent survivor is actor George Takei (best known as Mister Sulu from Star Trek, and as announcer for Howard Stern), who was sent there as a young child, with his family, from Los Angeles. Since his parents refused to take a vow and did not "pass" the loyalty questionnaire, the family was later transferred to Tule Lake War Relocation Center.
On December 21, 2006 President Bush signed H.R. 1492 into law guaranteeing $38,000,000 in federal money to restore the Rohwer relocation center along with nine other former Japanese internment camps. "H.R. 1492".
