Named after Charles Poston, the "Father of Arizona" and the state’s first Superintendent for Indian Affairs, the Poston internment camp was located about twelve miles south of Parker on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation. It opened on May 8, 1942 and closed on November 28, 1945, and was the largest camp in the country. By September 1942 the camp reached a peak population of 17,814 and was the third largest city in the state during much of that time. The internees came from Southern California, Kern County, Fresno, Monterey Bay, Sacramento County, and Southern Arizona. Interestingly, an arbitrary line that that divided Phoenix into two sections determined who would be evacuated: those living west of the line were sent to the camps and those living east of the line could remain in their homes.

The 71,000-acre site, situated in the lower Sonoran desert, was the hottest of all the camps. Summers in this region swelter at 115 degrees along with humidity caused by the nearby Colorado River; the winter days are cool and nights cold.

Poston actually comprised three separate camps – Poston I, II, and III – which were about three miles apart along what is now Mohave Road. The Colorado River Indian Reservation Tribal Council originally opposed the use of their land for a relocation camp because they did not want to inflict the same type of injustice that they had suffered. But the tribe was overruled by the Army and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The War Relocation Authority (WRA) turned over administration of the center to the BIA, but the WRA regained control in late 1943 when tensions developed between the two agencies. The BIA wanted to establish long-term farming ventures with the Japanese Americans, but the WRA’s plan was to encourage residents to leave for resettlement at the end of the war.

Called Roasten, Toasten, and Dustin by the internees, the camps were built by contractor Del Webb using 5,000 workers on a double work shift. Poston I was completed in less than three weeks and Poston II and III within 120 days. Guard towers were not needed at Poston because its location was so isolated and remote.

Poston I, the largest of the three camps, was the farthest north. It included administration offices, staff housing areas, warehouses, 36 evacuee residential blocks, a hospital and a military police compound that served the entire camp. Each block contained fourteen barracks, a mess hall, a recreation building, a men's latrine, a women's latrine, laundry facilities, and a fuel oil shed. Recreation halls were used for various purposes, including churches, service organizations, and beauty and barber shops.

Several miles south, Poston II had its own administration area, staff housing, garage area, warehouses, and residential blocks. The administration area had ten buildings, including a cold storage building, a medical clinic, a fire station, five office buildings, a storage building, and a post office. A north-south canal ran through the camp, which fed a large swimming pool in its center. There was also a carpentry shop, two houses, eight apartments, and two evacuee-built sheds.

Poston III also had an administration area and a garage area as well as 18 evacuee residential blocks. The residential blocks were arranged in three groups of six; one block was used as the elementary school and another for community services. The high school was located in a large open space just below the administrative area. It had an office, library, auditorium and eight classroom buildings, all made of adobe. The camp had a recreation area with two swimming pools and a stage, a motor pool and a dry goods store.

Families were assigned space in the wood and tarpaper barracks according to the number of people in their household, usually four families to a building. Housing was primitive and especially hard on the elderly and the ill. Many internees had to carry several buckets of water to their living quarters each day. The lack of privacy was particularly difficult for Japanese women, who were required to sleep, eat, bathe and use the toilet in the company of others. Although the rooms were bare and bleak, the residents did what they could to make themselves comfortable. They bought toiletries and clothes from the "Community Enterprises" store or ordered material from the Sears-Roebuck catalog to make curtains. The men collected lumber from wherever they could to make furniture and filled mattresses with hay. A honeymoon cottage was set aside for newlyweds; 662 babies were born and 221 adults passed away in the camp.

Unlike most other camps, Poston’s agricultural fields were contained within the fenced security area. Internees grew vegetables and fruit for camp and commercial consumption, and they also raised chickens and hogs, which greatly improved the quality of meals. The government only allotted about 40 cents per meal, and the food was inedible to most people and made from whatever was cheapest and easiest to get. Internees reportedly went on strike after they were served liver for several weeks. By the end of the second year of operation, the internees produced 85 percent of the vegetables they consumed. Over 1,400 acres of vegetables and 800 acres of field crops were under cultivation.

Internees could also work both inside and outside the camp. Inside, they did a variety of jobs and were paid from $12 to $19 a month. They could work as farm laborers outside the camp and college students were allowed to leave to finish their education. At Poston I, a factory that produced camouflage nets and ship models used as training aids for the Navy was operated from fall 1942 to May 1943.

The quality of education for children was lacking due to the shortage of materials and qualified teachers. The only qualification for a camp teacher was completion of a college degree. In addition to required subjects, children also participated in singing, dancing, story telling, drawing, and crafts.

As time passed, evacuees turned to artistic endeavors and even created gardens in the desert landscape. There were a variety of leisure activities at the camps, including movies, talent shows, and organized sports. In their spare time, children would play jacks and hopscotch, go skating, and swim in the nearby ravine. Scout troops were organized, as well as dances, concerts and other cultural events.

Only the Nisei were allowed to hold elected office as a member of the Community Council, the camp’s governing body. The council members, most of whom were younger internees, quickly alienated the administration as well as the Issei (first-generation Japanese Americans), who were uncomfortable with the Council's views and inexperience. To bring the older generation into the decision-making process, the Issei Advisory Board was formed in August 1942. But competition and tensions mounted between the Council and the Advisory Board.

Living conditions in the camp worsened. In the fall of 1942, food shortages mounted and such necessities as heating stoves had not yet been installed. It was extremely cold, and internees huddled around makeshift bonfires for warmth. In addition, they had not received promised clothing and clothing allowances, and payment of their salaries was behind. Camp residents felt that the administrators unfairly limited the power of their Community Council and provoked paranoia among the residents by seeking information about suspected troublemakers.

With discontent rampant within the community, open revolt was imminent. In November 1942, a suspected informer was severely beaten and officials arrested two male internees. When it became known that the men were to be tried in an Arizona court on the outside, protest erupted in the camp. On November 17, an Issei delegation called on the project director to request the suspects’ release, but they were refused. After a second unsuccessful meeting, the Community Council resigned in protest, and workers went on strike and picketed the police station on November 19. All services except the police, fire department and hospital were shut down.

The unity of the strikers began to break down, however, when extremist strike leaders raised the Japanese flag and blasted militaristic music in defiance. The assistant director, who was in charge during the director's absence, negotiated with protest leaders to end the strike peacefully. On November 24, settlement was reached by the director and the Emergency Executive Council, which represented the internees. One suspect was released and the other would be tried within the camp. The case was turned over to the U.S. Attorney, who later declined to prosecute. Tensions lifted, and the evacuees and staff gradually returned to their routines as conditions improved.

Poston had 611 eligible males inducted into armed forces and 24 Japanese-Americans who died in combat. Most of the camp’s population (93.7%) answered question 28 of the loyalty questionnaire positively. Those who answered the loyalty questions with "No" were sent to Tule Lake, the maximum-security center, which also served as a prison for those who had failed to register for the draft.

In the spring of 1944, Executive Order 9066 was lifted and the internees were finally allowed to go home. Several Hopi Indian families moved into the camp to keep the farms going. After the camp was closed, most of the barracks and other buildings were sold and moved and fields were converted to Reservation use. By November 28, 1945, the last internees left Poston. Some Japanese repatriated and moved back to Japan, but most chose to stay in the United States.

Today, a monument stands that gives a short history of the evacuation; the establishment of the Poston camp complex, its administration, the resettlement; and a tribute to the 24 internees who died in World War II. One plaque reads:

Japanese American History: An A to Z Reference, 1868 to the Present, by Brian Niiya. New York: Facts on File, 1993. This information is provided with the permission from the Japanese American National Museum and Brian Niiya, 1997.

Reprinted with permission from "Echoes of Silence:  The Untold Stories of the Nisei Soldiers Who Served in WWII" with thanks to the AJA WWII Memorial Alliance educational project who produced the CD.