Qualla: Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. Two bronze cranes strain against barbed wire, wings angled in opposite directions, bodies pressed together for support. They sit atop a stone pedestal scored with the marks of quarry drill cores - the same kind of stone the United States government once used to build the barracks that held more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The cranes are trying to escape. They are also holding each other up. Tucked between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station, on a triangular plot at Louisiana Avenue and D Street, this is one of the smaller monuments in Washington. It carries some of the heaviest weight.

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: Golden Cranes Rising

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. Sculptor Nina Akamu traveled to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, to study Japanese cranes before designing the centerpiece bronze. What she returned with became known as Golden Cranes - two birds caught in wire, wings mirroring each other in opposing arcs...

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: Ten Camps, Ten Names

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. Carved into the semi-circular granite wall are the names of the ten major incarceration camps where Japanese Americans were held: Manzanar, Tule Lake, Topaz, Heart Mountain, Minidoka, Gila River, Granada, Poston, Rohwer, and Jerome. Beside each name appears the number of people c...

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: The Honor Wall

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. Inside the memorial, a central Honor Wall lists the names of more than 800 Japanese Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces who died in service during the Second World War. Many of them served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team - units made up of Nise...

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: Drizzle and Tears

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. When the memorial was dedicated on November 9, 2000, around 2,000 people gathered in light rain. The U.S. Department of Defense Armed Force Press Service described the scene plainly: drizzling rain was mixed with tears streaming down the faces of Japanese American World War II he...

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid | CC BY-SA 4.0

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II: Why It Stands Where It Stands

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0. The siting matters. Many of Washington's memorials cluster on the National Mall, where the city's monumental axis aligns them with the Capitol and the Washington Monument. This one sits a few blocks north, in the triangular wedge between Louisiana Avenue and D Street, closer to t...