An unidentified speaker urged preserving the Fort Missoula site as a museum to ensure the story of World War II Japanese American internment remains visible for future generations.

The speaker described how, "shortly after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt formally declared war and also wrote an executive order, an executive order based on the 1789 Alien Enemies Act," and said those orders led to the rounding up and forced relocation of people of Japanese descent. The speaker said the people detained at Fort Missoula were "entirely men" who were separated from their wives and children and subjected to loyalty hearings with uncertain outcomes.

The speaker said visitors may see a well-kept site but should understand it was also a prison where detainees did not know whether they would ever return to their homes, farms or businesses. The remarks emphasized the personal and cultural consequences for those detained, including the shame and loss felt by many who had tried to conform and succeed as immigrants.

To justify keeping the site and creating museum space, the speaker cited the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and the language of apology signed under President Ronald Reagan, saying the act characterized internment as "based on racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership," and noting that the law authorized financial compensation for survivors. The speaker argued that a museum allows visitors to practice justice by learning the history and preventing repetition of similar injustices.

The comments referenced foundational American ideals, including the Declaration of Independence phrase that "all men are created equal" and inalienable rights, and framed preservation and public education at Fort Missoula as part of an ongoing effort to make those ideals real. The speaker concluded that keeping the stories and place alive "stacks the odds" toward justice for future Missoulians.

The remarks focused on historical context, personal impact on detainees and the case for a museum as an educational and commemorative resource. No formal motion or vote was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.