Congressman Dennis Cardoza
18th Congressional District of California

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives declared the Merced County Fairgrounds a memorial site today, recognizing its history as an intake center for Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II.

“This designation is long overdue,” said Congressman Cardoza, speaking of his resolution. “We can never forget that this unconscionable act happened in our community. We have an absolute responsibility to remember this event and to educate future generations.”

In the early 1940s, the Merced fairgrounds served as the Merced Assembly Center, a reporting site for 4,669 Japanese-Americans who were relocated to internment camps during the war. Congressman Cardoza’s colleague, Congressman Mike Honda, was among those to have been held at the site as a young boy before his family was interned in Amache, Colorado. Congressman Honda was a strong supporter in seeing the resolution passed.

H. Res. 129 specifically calls on Congress to recognize the historical significance of the Merced Assembly Center and the importance of establishing an appropriate memorial at the site to serve as a place for remembering the hardship endured by Japanese-Americans.

The Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee has been working for the past year to raise funds to construct a memorial.

“Congressman Cardoza was instrumental in the formation of the committee and in ensuring that this project moved forward,” said Bob Taniguichi, one of the committee co-chairs. “We’re ecstatic and ready to move ahead.”

Congressman Cardoza will discuss the Resolution when he joins committee members and the community as the keynote speaker at the annual Day of Remembrance Dinner, which will be held on Feb. 21 at the Merced County Fairgrounds. The history of the Merced Assembly Center will be discussed, as will the efforts of the memorial project and its future.