On December 17, 1944, Public Proclamation No. 21, declared that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese American “evacuees” from the West Coast could return to their homes. Ten weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. had authorized the removal of any or all people from mainland military areas “as deemed necessary.” The military then established that most West Coast citizens of Japanese descent should be relocated to internment camps where they were forced to live for 2.5 years.
