<Begin Segment 16>

SS: Is it hard to talk about camp now? Is it hard to remember about it?

EW: Well, I know that I hated it, and I was bitter. I think that most of the people were. I think everyone felt the same -- because we were loyal Americans and my fiance was in the army, my brother was in the army, and my husband's brother... you know, how can you justify that, taking them into the service, and then having us put in camps.

SS: Did your parents ever say, "Maybe we made a mistake coming to this country"?

EW: No, never, never. I think the word was, "It can't be helped." And we go, and obey, and gaman, "You put up with it."

SS: Was that easy to accept as a young woman, listening to your elders say that?

EW: No, no. But what could we have done? There was nothing we could have done. Some people had the foresight maybe, or were financially able to move inland to the Midwest, because... but we weren't able to.

SS: How did you manage to make life bearable for you? Was it just thinking of your fiance and thinking, someday...

EW: Yes, someday. Someday we'll get through this and... and then I had other friends who were in the same position, too. And we were able to, if my friend, she received her letter from her fiance then we would tell each other, and we'd say, "Oh boy, maybe it'll happen, that we can get out." And she was the first one to be able to leave camp, and I was the second one.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 1996 Densho. All Rights Reserved.