The Manzanar National Historical Site, and former WWII internment camp for Japanese, off Highway 395, eastern California.
The Manzanar National Historical Site is located approximately 200 miles north of Los Angeles in the Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, California. Manzanar was one of many Japanese internment camps established by the United States government to house Japanese-Americans during World War II. When one visits, one sees the grandeur of the Eastern Sierra Nevada range, with crests covered in snow most of the year, and one notices the persistent wind, generally cold, blowing through the valley. Don’t expect, however, a sizable prison wall fortified with watchtowers or innumerable generic barracks. Such fortification was never required. Most of the buildings have been razed and the land reclaimed by the sagebrush and the elements. Some foundations and slabs remain. There is also a graveyard. When one visits, one immediately feels an absence and a void, and that is what's most haunting.
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Location: The Manzanar National Historical Site, Independence, Highway 395, eastern California, USA
Photo credit: © Chris Lees / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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