California IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON : Manazanar Historic Site Bill Advances

The House of Representatives passed legislation that would make the World War II Manzanar internment camp in the Owens Valley a national historic site. “The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II will be remembered as one of the great tragedies in American history,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mel Levine (D-Calif.) said. About 10,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were housed at Manzanar during the height of World War II. It was the first of 10 such camps used by the United States between 1942 and 1945. Manzanar’s occupants were housed on a 500-acre site near Independence, about 175 miles north of Los Angeles. The compound was enclosed by barbed-wire fences and secured by guard towers.