TIMELINE

Ten weeks after Pearl Harbor, the internment process began. Japanese-Americans remained in the camps for the duration of the war. The last camp closed In 1946.

Dec. 7, 1941

The Japanese military bombs Pearl Harbor.

Feb. 19, 1942

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066.

March 2, 1942

Gen. John L. DeWitt designates military areas along the West Coast.

March 18, 1942

The president establishes the War Relocation Authority.

March 22, 1942

Manzanar opens as an assembly center.

March 23, 1942

The first Exclusion Order is issued to remove people of Japanese descent.

March 24, 1942

A proclamation imposes travel restrictions and curfews, and bans the possession of weapons, radios and cameras.

May-September 1942

The camps open.

Nov. 14, 1942

Uprising at Poston.

Dec. 5-6, 1942

Guards fire into the crowd during a riot at Manzanar, killing two.

Dec. 10, 1942

The WRA opens a prison for problem internees.

Jan. 29, 1943

The WRA distributes loyalty surveys to internees.

Feb. 1, 1943

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed entirely of Japanese Americans, is activated.

July-September 1943

The loyalty questionnaire is used to segregate uncooperative internees at Tule Lake.

Nov. 1, 1943

Uprising at Tule Lake.

Jan. 20, 1944

The draft is opened up to secondgeneration Japanese-Americans

January 1945

Most restrictions are lifted as of Jan. 2. The first families begin returning home.

May 7, 1945

Germany surrenders.

Aug. 6, 1945

The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, killing more than 80,000 people instantly.

Aug. 9, 1945

The atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, killing 70,000.

Aug. Japan 14,

surrenders, 1945 ending WWII.

Sept. 4, 1945

All restrictions on Japanese Americans are lifted

March 20, 1946

Tule Lake is the last camp to close.