Horror Manzanar National Monument, California, April 2007
The grave of Jerry Ogata, an infant that died at Manzanar, attracts many children's toy. I found this one quite profound a statement on the whole history of the Relocation.
Carol is referring to a toy that we noticed when we were there in February.(http://www.pbase.com/mityam/image/75696634 )
And, yes, it was still there only it had been moved to the top of the gravestone.
One of the things that I learned from reading Topaz Moon was that a good part of the population did not support the internment. I have posted three of the pictures from this gallery at my weekly photo blog at our local paper and there was an interesting comment from one of the viewers about her grandfather's reaction to the relocations. ( http://tim-may.petaluma360.com/default.asp?item=592690 ) So, for me this toy represents both the horror we feel looking back, and the horror some, besides the internees, felt at the time. Our history is not good at reminding us the for every action our government takes, there is often strong dissent.
...out of the mouths of babes....This toy gives profound expression to the experience of Manzanar, made all the more profound by being at the foot of an infant's grave.