Michelle Reed and Carly Gutzmann are halfway to their goal of collecting 120,313 origami cranes in remembrance of the Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.

The Minnesota teens have folded thousands on their own and collected the rest from paper-folders throughout the nation. Among them are 17,433 cranes from Hawaii, most of them donated since the girls' story was told in the Star-Bulletin in September.

Forty-eight boxes were received from the islands, some with macadamia nuts and personal letters included.

“;They look mostly like all of the other cranes, but we do get some with hula dancers and aloha on the paper, as well as a lot of foil cranes,”; said Mary Reed, Michelle's mother. “;We have also gotten several boxes of cranes that were wedding cranes and one that was from someone's 88th birthday.”;

The biggest producers, though, have been volunteers at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

“;I've marveled at all the support we've gotten. It's incredible,”; said Carly. “;Reaching the halfway point just shows us how many people are involved in this and making a difference.”;

With each crane received, a lesson of peace and recognition is taught, Carly said.

They will continue to collect cranes and search for a suitable home for them.

It all started as a project for National History Day on the topic of “;Triumph and Tragedy in History.”; The girls made a documentary, “;The Art and Soul of Topaz Relocation Center.”;

The 14-year-olds had not been exposed to Japanese culture in their small Minnesota town, and were unfamiliar with the internment camp story. They say they don't want to see history repeat itself.

“;I learned bout many of the different personal experiences of the internees,”; Michelle said. “;With each internee I meet, I gain more insight into how important this memorial project really is.”;