SIXTEEN DOLLARS A MONTH
Community and Social Services at Amache
PUBLIC WORKS
Amache Camp contained a Public Works department that included a fire station, post office, police station, and maintenance crew. “Caucasian engineers led this department,” says Harvey, “but, like other departments, the bulk of its employees were Issei and Nissei.” Like the doctors and support staff in the medical facilities, wages for the employees in the public works departments were low. Those with professional degrees earned $19/month, while ‘regular’ employees earned $16/month and apprentices who required a deal of oversight earned $12/month. Because rent was not charged, wages were generally used to supplement living expenses and shop at the cooperative store.
Amache Fire Department. Image Source: North Bay Ethnic Digital Collection, Sonoma State University Special Collections and Archives
AMACHE HOSPITAL
Health services at Amache were comprised of a hospital and a dental clinic. The Amache hospital provided care for over 10,000 patients during its time of operation, while the dental clinic treated approximately 125. More than 400 babies were born in the hospital, and the average monthly patient load for doctors and support staff was over 1,900. (Saiki 19)
A radiologist assisting a patient. Image Source: The Bancroft Library, University of California. Berkeley, California.
UNLIKELY LIBERATORS
Although there was a degree of resistance to the drafting of inmates to assist the US war effort, many Amache men and women chose to enlist and serve their country. Of particular need to the military were those with skills in the Japanese language. The men of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were an all-Japanese group of soldiers from the Amache Camp. This unit fought mainly in France, and became the most decorated out of all the units in World War II, with one soldier receiving a posthumous Medal of Honor. (Duus 7)
A funeral behind barbed wire. Image Source: Amache: Colorado Experience. Denver: Rocky Mountain PBS, 2013.
Sources:
Duus, Masayo Umezawa. 2006. Unlikely Liberators : The Men of the 100th And 442nd. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Accessed December 16, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Harvey, Robert. Amache : the story of Japanese internment in Colorado during World War II. Lanham, Md. : Taylor Trade Pub. : Distributed by National Book Network, 2004.
Saiki, Mark K. Cooperation, Compliance, and Resistance at Amache. Master’s Thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 2006.