Memorial Day in Huntington Beach, May 31, 2010

 

Memorial Day in 2010 is on Monday, the 31st of May. In the United States, Memorial Day is always celebrated on the last Monday of May.  Memorial Day is celebrated each year at the California beaches and in California's cities much like it is celebrated elsewhere in the United States. In fact, there's actually a beach in California just over 100 miles north of this event location shown in the photograph (Huntington Beach), where enemy fire actually hit the shore. Right at the beach next to Bacara Resort, a plaque commemorates that event. You can see more photos of the Huntington Beach Memorial Day Celebration.

Few know that such an attack occurred, but as you read about and see plaques along the California coast in memory of the efforts of WWII, youu'll discover that life was not easy going and every aspect of life was impacted for Americans during the war. Just north of Huntington Beach in Long Beach you'll see replica canons, and on the hilltop in San Pedro at an old Army barracks you can look at the bunkers and vistas that provided views of the coast for soldiers on guard.

In Huntington Beach the pier itself was taken over and used for keeping watch along the coast. One of the few remnants of the war effort exists on the Bolsa Chica where a circular track once was used for moving weapons.

Enemy attacks are always on the minds of residents and visitors to Huntington Beach who can see the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, and the bunkers covered with grass along the fields across the street from Huntington Beach's Boeing facility.

In Huntington Beach and the 500 or so beaches throughout California you'll find countless stories from individuals impacted by war. In California a not-so-proud legacy exists in which discrimination during WWII led to the creation of internment camps where Asian-American citizens were housed.

Temporary camps included Civilian Assembly Centers in Arcadia's Santa Anita Racetrack, stables; Fresno's Fairgrounds, racetrack and stables; Marysville / Arboga migrant workers' camp; Merced's county fairgrounds; Owens Valley; Pinedale Assembly Center, warehouses; Pomona's Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, racetrack and stables; Sacramento / Walerga migrant workers' camp; Salinas fairgrounds, racetrack and stables; San Bruno's Tanforan racetrack and stables;  Stockton's San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, racetrack and stables; Tulare 's fairgrounds, racetrack and stables; Turlock's Stanislaus County Fairgrounds and Woodland, California.

Two internment camps in California at Manzanar and Tule Lake housed thousands of individuals, many American citizens, against their will. In 2008 Tule Lake site was chosen as one of nine sites to be part of the new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.