In the early months of 1942, amidst the backdrop of the Second World War, a hastily built barracks-like facility sprang up on the outskirts of Fresno, California. Known as the Pinedale Assembly Center, it became one of the fifteen temporary detention centers constructed to incarcerate Japanese-Americans until their transport to permanent camps in Tule Lake, California, and Poston, Arizona.

The Pinedale Assembly Center was located in Fresno County, California, and was an integral part of the larger San Joaquin Valley Japanese-American community. Before World War II, this region was home to a vibrant and thriving Japanese-American population. Families had established farms, businesses, and cultural institutions, contributing significantly to the local economy and society.

However, the course of history took a dramatic turn with the issuance of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. This order led to the forced removal and internment of Japanese-Americans living along the West Coast. This measure, a response to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and fueled by fear and xenophobia, led to the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans. For many in the San Joaquin Valley community, the Pinedale Assembly Center symbolized their sudden displacement and the loss of their homes and livelihoods: scars that forever remained on their lives and lineage.

From June 1923 through November 1931, the property operated as the Sugar Pine Lumber Company, providing the economy with 600,000 board feet of lumber daily. Due to a shortage of working capital and the ill effects of the Great Depression, the company's lifespan was short. Though not a successful business, it did succeed in the firm establishment of the Pinedale community. "Despite the demise of the lumber mill, the community of Pinedale continued to thrive. Leftover scrap lumber from the mill was used to construct new homes and buildings in Pinedale, including Saint Agnes Church. A variety of ethnic groups resided in Pinedale, such as immigrants from Mexico, some African Americans, and Caucasians, all intent upon pursuing their own "American Dream."

Shortly after the war's onset, the Pinedale Assembly Center quickly arose on the property. Like other internment facilities, scantily constructed barracks and other structures became areas of confinement for thousands of innocents. The accommodations were stark, with inadequate living conditions, privacy, and freedom of movement. Families were abruptly separated from their homes and communities, ostracized, faced emotional distress, and endured the challenges of adapting to an entirely new way of life.

From a national perspective, there was a palpable mix of fear and racial prejudice at the time. Despite a lack of evidence suggesting Japanese-American involvement in espionage, government officials and the media echoed the sentiment that people of Japanese descent posed a potential threat to national security. Simply stated, the United States held every individual with Japanese heritage responsible for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Today, the narrative surrounding the Pinedale Assembly Center and other similar facilities has undergone a profound shift. The perspective, steeped once in wartime hysteria and racism, has evolved over the decades. The signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, which acknowledged and apologized for the unjust incarceration, was a significant turning point. The act stated that the government's actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership" and awarded reparations to surviving Japanese-American detainees.

From the perspective of Japanese Americans, this redress was a long-overdue acknowledgment of the injustices they suffered. Many survivors have shared their stories, ensuring that the lessons from this dark chapter of American history remain as educators against repetition. In Fresno, where the Pinedale Assembly Center once stood, a small memorial now pays tribute to those forced to assemble there. Instead of statues or obelisks, the community chose to commemorate using education and community dialogues via a panoramic display of plaques and photographs. The Sugar Pine Lumber Company water tower remains in the landscape as it claims its place alongside modern architecture. Benches made from lumber cut at the lumber company surround a "Fountain of Remembrance" and provide a resting place for immersion and reflection into the site, a poignant reminder of the resilience of those affected and the need for vigilance against the recurrence of such injustices.

World War II Army veteran Vernon N. Schmidt grew up in the town of Reedley, Fresno County, California. Located approximately 32 miles from Pinedale, his family farmed, worshipped, and received schooling alongside other families in this blended community. His childhood memories and classroom experiences reflect the friendships and influences of Japanese-American citizens.

The Nisei, American native-born citizens of Japanese immigrants, comprised 70,000 of the 120,000 sent to internment camps. Vern and his wife Violet recall the confusion and sadness of witnessing those they grew up with being "herded up and sent off like cattle." Unable to give his friends the proper sendoff on what he remembers as a Saturday, Vern and his brother, Glenn, worked the family farm with their father to provide for their family during wartime. Over 80 years later, he shared, "These individuals were our high school friends. Several years down the line, our Class of 1943 organized a gathering in Reedley, during which we presented retroactive 1943 High School Graduation Certificates to many of these individuals. This heartfelt gesture brought forth a flood of happy tears from those in attendance."

The collective memory of the Pinedale Assembly Center is intimately tied to the Japanese-American community's resilience and determination in the face of adversity. Within the San Joaquin Valley community and beyond, there has been a concerted effort to document the stories of those processed at Pinedale and similar camps. This documentation includes oral histories, photographs, and personal accounts that shed light on the challenges and triumphs of those affected. Additionally, museums, educational programs, and tools exist to educate the public about this dark chapter in American history.

In summary, the history of the Pinedale Assembly Center is deeply rooted in the rich tapestry of the San Joaquin Valley Japanese-American community. The collective memory discussed serves as the memorial to the strength and steadfastness of individuals who endured internment and serves as a vital reminder of the suffering experienced by those who lived during the Second World War.

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General George S. Patton was undoubtedly one of the most colorful yet controversial American military leaders of the twentieth century. Appropriately enough, he has been the subject of innumerable profiles, movies, and full-scale biographies during his lifetime and since his death. Many memorials, statues, schools, and museums exist in his honor and dedication to his memory. The name General George Smith Patton Jr. does not necessarily evoke the same memories overseas as in America. While there are many monuments and statues of Patton located throughout the world, only three major locations are 'biographical museums.' Located in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Ettelbruck, Belgium, and Chiriaco, California, each focuses upon the General and his exploits in North Africa, Italy, France, Belgium, and Germany during the Second World War.

The General Patton Memorial Museum in Chiriaco Summit, California, was established in 1988. It is dedicated primarily to honoring Patton and the soldiers who trained there, displaying war items related to the general and the hundreds of thousands of men and women who trained at the facility between 1942-1944. The museum sits within what was once known as 'U.S Army Camp Young,' a swath of desert comprising over eighteen thousand square miles. Even today, it is still considered the world's largest military training installation.

A native of San Marino, California, General Patton returned to his home state in early 1942, shortly after America's entry into World War II, to set up a desert training center for U.S. soldiers heading into combat. The facility's primary purpose was to prepare young men for desert tank warfare before being sent to North Africa and Italy. Although General Patton was only at Camp Young for four months before heading overseas, it continued its heavy-armor tank training until December 1944.

At the camp's creation, history was about to be made in a place where only cactus and scrub survived, where unrelenting heat and sand were the norms of the day. It is here, in the middle of the Mojave Desert in Southeastern California, that this forsaken land would become Patton's "paradise, exactly what he was looking for." Acquiring the land in the desert by the U.S. Army is a tale the locals enjoy relaying to tourists today. The story tells of General Patton personally walking into the Indio office of surveyor Michael Rusche in early 1942, saying, "I hear you've been around here for a while. I hope you can help me out." What soon transpired under the General's direction was the building of eleven separate camps, which comprised the training facility at Camp Young. Patton's headquarters were stationed in the middle and used as the focal point, with the surrounding miles of the desert used to train tank warfare. "We cannot train troops to fight in the desert of North Africa by training them in the swamps of Georgia," Patton was to proclaim. Over the next two years, over one million Americans, both male and female, prepared for battle here under the ghastliest of conditions.

Many first-hand accounts relate, "as the first commanding general of the training facility, Patton certainly stamped his brand on the training center." The hill from which he could observe the wide range of tank exercises was called 'The King's Throne.' It was a lower elevation within the surrounding mountains where he could critically scrutinize the formation of the tanks and motorized units below. Detecting a mistake or way to improve, he would shout instructions into his radio, "many of which were expletives." An official Army historian named Porter B. Williamson wrote, "on a number of occasions, Patton would extoll a particular soldier or unit via his radio communications so everyone could hear." However, more than once, his harsh words would announce something such as, "Colonel Blank, you are removed from command. If you know what is good for you, you will stay away from me for a week," prompting laughter from the men.

The General George Patton Memorial Museum, outside Luxembourg City, in the small town of Hamm, Luxembourg, is also the site of an American cemetery where over five-thousand U.S. servicemen are buried, most of them killed in the Battle of the Bulge. Located among these men is the grave of General Patton. When he died in late 1945, one of his last requests was "to be buried among his men." Luxembourg celebrates General Patton and the American troops that liberated the city every year on the last Sunday in June, calling the holiday 'Remembrance Day.' This holiday was conceived shortly after the war by the townspeople and continues to this day. At the ceremony's close, the city's mayor takes center stage. The concluding remarks remain the same, "Luxembourg will never forget what General Patton and the United States did for us. God bless America, and God bless our little Grand Duchy."

The General George Patton Museum of Leadership in Fort Knox, Kentucky, was once the largest Patton museum in the United States. In the mid-1990s, the outdoor tank exhibits and many statues and monuments transferred to military museums in Fort Benning, Georgia, and West Point, New York. However, the Kentucky museum still garners over 350,000 visitors each year. This complex was developed shortly after World War II and has been "a work in progress ever since." Managed by the U.S. Army Accessions Command in Fort Monroe, Virginia, it contains several of Patton's personal effects, including items from his childhood in California, his revolvers, touring car, and even the 1938 Cadillac in which he took his final ride. Rather than glorifying war, this museum presents Patton's complex, emotional, and intellectual history and armored warfare through the ages. Every July 4, this museum comes alive and celebrates General Patton by hosting a re-enactment based loosely on the type of combat that occurred in Northern Europe in the spring of 1945.

The perspectives of memory vary between these three museums in Luxembourg, Fort Knox, and Chiriaco Summit. From yearly ceremonies in Europe, specifically Luxembourg, we know that Patton is still considered a gallant hero and truly celebrated. But what about in America? Could Patton's 'star power' or popularity in the United States be waning or changing somehow? Does the recent movement of 230 large Patton artifacts from the Fort Knox museum in Kentucky to a more secular and less-visited army base at Fort Benning, Georgia, suggest in some way that Americans today feel differently about Patton?

Mirna Flores, Director of the California memorial, has been with the Patton museum for over twenty years. Although she was not aware of what the Fort Knox museum had done, she is confident that "although Patton was a complicated military figure, the museum believes his star has not tarnished in any way." In recent decades, the museum enjoyed record yearly increases in visitors to the facility. When asked how the museum has changed, grown, and evolved during her tenure, she noted she was most proud of two things: securing a very hard-to-find original German Tiger Tank and formatting a school children's tour. Flores added, "Education of the war itself along with Patton's life has always been the focus of the museum," but fashioning the information for young children became a goal and a reality for the museum in just the last few years.

Remembering Camp Young in the California desert historically and through collective memory is equally as important as honoring the countless men and women trained there. The soldiers who initially trained at the camp became the first American forces deployed to combat against the Germans in North Africa.

In 1988, over four decades since the end of World War II, many old soldiers and their families returned and gathered in the hot California desert for the dedication of the Patton Museum at Chiriaco Summit. Two aging veterans, Charles Jeglinski, 74, of Venice, California, and Frank Carroll, 75, of Phoenix, Arizona, pulled aside a couple of journalists covering the event. They both had trained at Camp Young with Patton and followed him into battle in North Africa and Europe. Said Carroll to the journalists, "Here's a picture I bet you fella's don't have." They went on to say General Patton told them he was going to do this when they arrived in Germany, and they both claimed he always kept his word. The photograph showed a smiling General Patton on a small hilltop as he urinated into the Rhine River below.

(edited by Laura Bailey)

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