WWII Camp Wall, Columbia Park, Torrance

The Vision. The WWII Camp Wall is the vision of Kanji Sahara. During WWII,  his family was incarcerated at the Santa Anita Assembly Center. He was transferred to Jerome and Rohwer camps. After the war, his family resettled in Chicago, IL. Dr. Sahara, now retired, was an engineering supervisor in the aerospace industry. He also volunteered as a docent for the Japanese American National Museum for many years and advocated for human rights throughout his adult life. That battle for justice will never die.

Kanji’s dream is to build a memorial that consists of ten walls, one for each of the War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps during World War II. Each of the camp walls will list the name of each person that was incarcerated at that camp. There will be an eleventh or even a twelfth wall, listing the names of those held at Department of Justice (DOJ) and Army camps.