Fifteen miles down the road from Cody in a very desolate location is the World War II forced Asian internment camp of Heart Mountain. Shortly after the war started, all Asians were rounded up and shipped to camps like these. This just happened to be the opening day for this new historical exhibit. Many dignitaries including senators and judges of Asian heritage were in the area. Tom Brokaw of NBC gave a keynote address on Friday (unfortunately we missed this).
The internees were treated well while here although the housing was sparse and crowded. There were many hundreds of buildings. Most were from warm California and the cold Wyoming weather was harsh. Ironically some "detainees" who were actually citizens, joined or were drafted into service to fight in the war (Europe).
Controversial from the beginning, in 1988 Congress and President Reagan apologized to the detainees and offered compensation for "violation of civil liberties".
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