Licensing

Heart Mountain - Christmas caroling to soldier

To view video, Click Here. Kara K. remembers the unexpected effect her Christmas caroling had on one camp guard.

"I was advisor to a high school girls' group called Hijinks, and we went out caroling. And we went to the, to the guard towers where people were, the soldiers were stationed to guard us. And I can see the, I can just picture how cold it was and the frost glistening on the barbed wire and our singing songs. And I could -- we thought we were being smart. [Laughs] But, and this poor voice that was almost choking with tears said, "Well, thank you." And how lonely he must have been up there. Those are the kinds of memories you have about Christmas."

Kara K. Interview - Copyright © 2002 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

Heart Mountain was located on 46,000 acres in Park County in northwest Wyoming, 12 miles northwest of Cody, in open sagebrush desert at 4,700 feet of elevation near the Shoshone River. Heart Mountain, 8 miles to the west, creates a dramatic backdrop. Dust storms are common. Winters are severe, with lows dipping to -30 degrees.

Population Description: Held people from Los Angeles, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, California; Yakima, Washington; and Oregon.

To view facts and photos of Heart Mountain, Click Here to view Densho's interactive Sites of Shame map. Then click on the red dot corresponding to Heart Mountain. Courtesy of Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project