This week in history

March 18, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9201. It authorized the War Relocation Authority. It was established in the Office of Emergency Management. This authority was charged with interning Japanese-Americans. The director was Milton Eisenhower, younger brother of Dwight Eisenhower.

Prior to the above date, and hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, FBI agents had gathered hundreds of Italian, Japanese and German immigrants who were living in California. They were put on a train that brought them to Missoula, Montana. There, they were placed in the Alien Detention Center at Fort Missoula.

Source(s): The American Presidency Project

& National WW 2 Museum

Compiled by Bob Valen