RES 2002-02 DESIGNATING FORMER EAGLEDALE FERRY LANDING A NATIONAL MEMORIALCity Council Meeting
January 23, 2002
RESOLUTION NO. 2002-02
A RESOLUTION of the City of Bainbridge Island,
Washington, encouraging the Washington State
Legislature, the United States Congress and appropriate
federal authorities to continue their worthy endeavor to
designate the former Eagledale ferry landing on Bainbridge
Island as a national memorial to remember the
unconstitutional internment of Japanese Americans during
World War II.
WHEREAS, during World War II on February 19, 1942, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, setting in motion the forced exile of
more than 110,000 Japanese Americans from Washington, Oregon and California; and
WHEREAS, in Washington State, 12,892 men, women and children of Japanese
ancestry – most of them United States citizens – experienced three years of
unconstitutional internment, deprived of their rights granted under Amendment XIV of
the United Stated Constitution to protect their life, liberty and property through due
process of law; and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 1942, 227 Bainbridge Island men, women and
children of Japanese ancestry – most of them United States citizens – were escorted by
U.S. Army soldiers to the former Eagledale ferry landing where they solemnly boarded
the ferry Kehloken and departed on a lonely journey with an unknown destination and
fate; and
WHEREAS, with only six days notice they would be taken away and only
allowed to bring whatever they could carry or wear, they were forced to hastily sell, store
or make arrangements for all of their possessions, businesses and property; and
WHEREAS, the 227 people from Bainbridge Island were the first Japanese
Americans in United States history to be forcibly removed from their homes by the U.S.
Army; and
WHEREAS, not all were interned—some were drafted into the military, some were
unjustly imprisoned, some moved to eastern Washington—but all were excluded; and
WHEREAS, their only crime was being Nikkei – persons of Japanese ancestry; and
City Council Meeting
January 23, 2002
WHEREAS, to commemorate this momentous and tragic event in United States
history, the Bainbridge Island World War II Nikkei Exclusion Memorial Committee, a joint
endeavor of the Bainbridge Island/North Kitsap Interfaith Council and the Bainbridge Island
Japanese American Community, is working with members of Washington State's federal
delegation and appropriate federal authorities to designate the former Eagledale ferry landing
as a national memorial; and
WHEREAS, it is the vision and hope that the proposed national memorial will honor
those who suffered, cherish the friends and community who stood beside them and welcomed
them home, and inspire all Americans to not repeat the mistakes of the past by safeguarding
constitutional rights for all; and
WHEREAS, the proposed national memorial could become an international treasure,
attracting, informing and inspiring people from around the world by telling an important and
timeless story for future generations; and
WHEREAS, it is vital that our citizens remember and learn from this period of our
nation's history, now therefore
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, DOES
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
That the City of Bainbridge Island encourages the Washington State Legislature, the
United States Congress and appropriate federal authorities to continue their worthy endeavor
to designate the former Eagledale ferry landing on Bainbridge Island as a national memorial
to remember the unconstitutional internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
PASSED by the City Council this 23`d day of January 2002.
APPROVED by the
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
SUSAN P. KASPER, City Clerk
this 1 st day of January 2002.
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DARLENE KORDONOWA
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: January 17, 2002
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: January 23, 2002
RESOLUTION NO.: 2002-02