Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Biography
Tule Lake History
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Related Materials
Processing Information for Digitized Materials
Existence and Location of Copies
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Sylvester (Owen M.) Tule Lake Photograph Collection
Creator:
Sylvester, Owen M.
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2016.012
Physical Description:
1 box
Physical Description:
.25 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1942-1943
Abstract: This collection contains one box of photographic images taken by Captain Owen M. Sylvester while at Tule Lake Segregation
Center during a military occupation as a member of the 772 Military Police Battalion in 1943. This collection is digitized
and available online.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Library acquisition.
Biography
Captain Owen M. Sylvester (1895-unknown) began his military career as a private in Company A, 161st Infantry Regiment of the
Washington National Guard, serving in the Mexican Border War from 1915-1917. In 1918, Sylvester transferred to the 2nd Infantry
Division and served in the Army of Occupation in France until 1919. Following World War I, Sylvester was promoted to the rank
of Captain and commanded the 2nd Battalion, 148th Field Artillery in the Washington National Guard from 1941-1942. Following
his training at the Los Angeles Police Academy in 1942, Sylvester was appointed to the 772nd Military Police Battalion as
Commander of Company C, where his battalion was assigned to the Boeing bomber plant in Renton Washington from 1942-1943, Tule
Lake Segregation Center in 1943, and Fort Washington in 1944. At the end of World War II, Sylvester became a company commander
and Provost Marshal at the Naval Air Station in Pasco, Washington. After the War, Sylvester went to Greece as part of the
European Recovery Program (ERP) to assist in the rehabilitation of western and southern European economies.
Tule Lake History
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which gave the military the authority to
exclude any citizen who posed a threat to national security. As a result, approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans living
on the West Coast were removed and incarcerated in concentration camps. The Tule Lake Incarceration Center was the largest
of the ten concentration camps with approximately 18,000 prisoners, and was located close to the California-Oregon border
near the town of Newell, California and 10 miles south of the town of Tulelake. On February 8, 1943, the War Department and
War Relocation Authority (WRA) distributed a questionnaire in order to assess the loyalty of those housed in concentration
camps. The questionnaire was difficult and complex, which led to uncertainty and confusion. Failure to complete the questionnaire,
as well as questions answered in an unsatisfactory manner caused a great number of incarcerees to be deemed "disloyal" and
sent to Tule Lake Segregation Center- the designated location "disloyal" incarcerees.
In October 1943, following an agricultural truck accident that resulted in one incarceree death and also left five injured,
incarcerees- upset by the events that had transpired, demanded improvement of safety and better compensation for work-related
injuries. This ultimately resulted in a workers strike, and a negotiating committee- Daihyo Sha Kai was formed so that they
could meet with the center's Director, Raymond Best to outline their grievances and attempt to resolve issues. The response
from administration was to fire workers and bring in strikebreakers- "loyal" inmates who were willing to work. Due to growing
tension within the camp, Best and WRA National Director Dillion Myer met with the Daihyo Sha Kai on November 1, 1943, but
there was no resolution. On November 4th, after noticing large crowds of incarcerees gathering around administrative buildings,
Best responded by calling in the Army. When incarcerees attempted to go to work the following day, they were met with vehicles
armed with machine guns and tear gas was dispersed. On November 14th 1943, Best declared martial law and Tule Lake became
an armed camp with a curfew for incarcerees and barrack-to-barrack searches. Over 200 incarcerees including members of the
Daihyo Sha Kai were apprehended and detained in a makeshift stockade. The stockade was isolated from the rest of the center
and was surrounded by fences and four guard towers within a 250 by 350 foot area. The arrests continued until over 350 incarcerees
were imprisoned in the stockade. In early January 1944, Tule Lake incarcerees voted to end the protest and on January 15,
1944 Best lifted martial law, ending military control of Tule Lake.
Scope and Contents
The Owen M. Sylvester Tule Lake Photograph Collection (1942-1943) contains 32 black-and-white photographs taken by Sylvester
at Tule Lake. The majority of the photographs were taken inside the Tule Lake Segregation Center in Newell, California in
November 1943 and feature scenes containing housing quarters, the stockade area, the interior of army vehicles, imprisoned
Japanese-Americans, members of the 772nd Military Police Battalion, and soldiers with guns. Also included are photographs
depicting scenery from directly outside of the camp, Sylvester's battalion, soldiers in route to Tule Lake, and soldier stations
in the hills adjacent to the Tule Lake Segregation Center. A few photographs were taken in 1942 mostly in Oregon and document
the Battalion before they traveled to Tule Lake, and also include some of the names of the members of the Battalion. Photographs
contain captions possibly written by Sylvester.
Arrangement
Arranged in 1 box.
Related Materials
Processing Information for Digitized Materials
The Gerth Archives and Special Collections created digital reproductions from the original material for long-term preservation
and access. These preservation files (53 Tiff files, 1.03 gb) were scanned to and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special
Collections Deparment Drive. Original scans were completed in 2014-2015 and the material was rescanned in 2021 to match current
standards. For more information on the best practices and standards for the digitization process, please see:
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project Technical Reference Guide.
Existence and Location of Copies
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Concentration Camps -- United States
Japanese Americans -- Pacific States -- History -- 20th century
Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans -- California
Tule Lake Relocation Center (Calif.)--1940-1950
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- California
Martial law -- United States
Newell (Calif.)
Tulelake (Calif.)