Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

Details

DescriptionAt Fort Missoula, we invite visitors to explore the rich history and culture of western Montana found throughout our 32 park-like acres. Some of Missoula County’s fascinating history you will discover includes: early Fort history dating from its establishment in 1877 in the midst of the Indian Wars; the exploits of the all African American 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, the century or more of the forest products industry’s culture and innovations; and the World War II internment camp that once held over 2200 Italian and Japanese nationals.

Fort Missoula Alien Detention Center Photograph Collection
The Fort Missoula Alien Detention Center was one of a handful of internment camps run by the Department of Justice during World War II. Roughly 1000 Italian merchant sailors were held for several years, and roughly 1000 more Japanese immigrant men, known as Issei, were held temporarily following the Pearl Harbor attack. The photos in this collection are part of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula’s permanent collection. They offer a look into the lives of these detainees during their time at Fort Missoula.

Fort Missoula Alien Detention Camp Collection
During World War II, Fort Missoula in Missoula, Montana, was turned over to the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service for use as an Alien Detention Center (ADC) to hold foreign nationals and resident aliens. This collection includes correspondence, telegrams, memoranda and maps documenting the creation of the Fort Missoula Detention Camp between 1941 and 1942.

The majority of the records originate from Willard F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Details are provided about the construction of new facilities; the renovation of existing facilities; the securing of supplies including vaccinations, clothing and food; and other logistics such as sanitation and entertainment. Some documents include personal information about the detainees including name, rank, age, hometown, and marital status. Some of the documents also relate to provisioning Fort Lincoln just south of Bismarck, North Dakota.

Between 1941 and 1944, the ADC held 1,200 non-military Italian men, 1,000 Japanese resident aliens, 23 German resident aliens, and 123 Japanese Latin and South Americans. The 1,200 Italian men were merchant seamen, World's Fair employees and the crew of an Italian luxury liner seized in the Panama Canal. Many of the Italians, who referred to the Fort as "Bella Vista," spent the war as paid laborers replacing American men working in forestry, farms, the sugar beet industry and constructing Highway 12. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the FBI arrested more than a 1,000 of the most prominent Japanese leaders on the west coast as potential security risks. Ultimately, over 1,000 Japanese men - all resident aliens barred by law from American citizenship - were held at Fort Missoula for loyalty hearings. None was ever charged with any act of disloyalty but all were held at Fort Missoula or other camps for the duration of the war. A handful of German resident aliens were held for short periods at Fort Missoula, although most were held at Fort Lincoln in Bismarck, North Dakota. The 123 men of Japanese ancestry from Latin and South America, mostly Peru, were a very small part of several thousand held primarily at the Santa Fe camp or at Crystal City, Texas.

The documents in this collection were scanned from notebooks maintained by the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. These notebooks contain only photocopies. Documents which include medical or case file information about detainees have not been made available. There are indications that the original documents were held at one time in the record vault of the Missoula County Records office. Official records of internment camps, including those of Fort Missoula, are held by the National Archives and Records Administration in RG 85.
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Document

Copy of Surveillance Order No. 1 by Nick D. Collaer, Inspector in Charge, Fort Missoula

Copy of letter to Lemuel B. Schofield, Special Assistant to the Attorney General from Thomas Parran, U.S. Surgeon General regarding medical services at Fort Missoula

Copy of letter to Quartermaster Supply Officer from Nick Collaer, Inspector in Charge, Immigration and Naturalization Service

Copy of letter to Senator James E. Murray from Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War

Copy of letter to U.S. Surgeon General from Lemuel B. Schofield, Special Assistant to the Attorney General regarding the detention of alien seamen at Fort Missoula

Copy of letter to the Attorney General from Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War

Copy of letter to the Attorney General from Sumner Welles, Under Secretary for the Secretary of State

Copy of newspaper clipping from the Daily Missoulian to W.F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol from Nick D. Collaer, Inspector in Charge, Fort Missoula

Copy of permit granted to the Department of Justice for the use of Fort Missoula for five years, signed by B.W. Mills from the office of the Assistant Secretary of War

Copy of telegram to W.F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol from Nick D. Collaer

Correspondence from Williams A. Carmichael, District Director, Los Angeles District regarding the assignment of nurses and doctors

Correspondence to Corps Area Quartermaster, Presidio of San Francisco, California from Nick D. Collaer, Inspector in Charge, Fort Missoula

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization in Seattle, Washington from W. F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, Boston, Massachusetts from Lemuel B. Schofield, Special Assistant to the Attorney General

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, Ellis Island, New York from W. F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, Ellis Island, New York from W.F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, San Antonio, Texas from Lemuel B. Schofield, Special Assistant to the Attorney General

Correspondence to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization, Seattle, Washington from W.F. Kelly, Chief Supervisor of Border Patrol

Collection

Fort Missoula Alien Detention Camp Collection

Fort Missoula Alien Detention Center Photograph Collection