Heart Mountain Historic Relocation Camp
10 miles northeast of Cody on U.S. Highway 14A, or 6 miles southwest of Ralston

On a more sober note, 11 miles east of Cody, you will find the remains of the Heart Moutain Japanese Relocation Camp. This was where over 10,000 Japanese-Americans from the west coast were forced to settle after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, when their patriotism was questioned unjustly. Conditions in the camp were primitive. Poorly insulated barracks contained small “apartments” with several occupants crowded into each. Internees came with few belongings, had little furniture, and shared bath facilities. The perimeter was surrounded by barbed wire, and guards with machine guns and searchlights watched from nine different towers, day and night.

But most residents remained true to the United States, and their mantra for survival was “shikata ga nai” (I guess it cannot be helped). Over 600 of the internees joined the Army and served in the war in Europe. Twenty-one of them gave their lives for their country. Those who remained behind found work in local agriculture, filling in for sons who had gone off to war. Mostly, their wages were less than what prisoners-of war were making on the other side of the state, near Douglas.

The Heart Mountain Wyoming Association is working at preserving this site as a reminder of social injustice, so that we may avoid such folly in the future.