WA SR8687

Washington State Senate acknowledges the 84th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 (signed February 19, 1942), which authorized the forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, including 12,000 Washington state residents

Recognizes Japanese American veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team who earned 21 Medals of Honor, 9,486 Purple Hearts, and the 2010 Congressional Gold Medal while their families remained in concentration camps

Honors civil rights activists like Gordon Hirabayashi of Auburn, Washington, who was arrested and imprisoned for defying military curfew and evacuation orders

Notes that the 1982 congressional commission found "no military or security reason" for the incarceration, attributing it to "racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership"

Directs copies of the resolution be sent to the Nisei Veterans Committee, Densho, Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, and Wing Luke Museum