<Begin Segment 20>

DH: So you graduated in high school in 1951. So then, tell us what happened between that time in 1958, when you were going to Town and Country Florist.

JH: Well, in 1951 I won a scholarship to go to Olympic College for a year, and I attended Olympic College in Bremerton for a whole year. And then I decided that it would be better for me to attend the University of Washington, so I went there in 1952. So I began there in the fall of 1952, and graduated there with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. But a wonderful thing happened, was that I met my wife there, my wife-to-be there, on the steps of the library, at the University of Washington campus.

DH: How did you meet her?

JH: [Laughs] Well, it's kind of a long story, but I'll shorten it by saying that, that her enterprising brother arranged my meeting her.

DH: [Laughs] So you met your wife, or your... and you started dating, and then, after college what did you do?

JH: After college I was drafted by the United States government. In actuality, what happened was that I graduated, as I say, in business administration. I was offered a job by Lou Goller, the local banker at the American Marine Bank, and I was ready to go to work the next week, and I got my draft notice the next day. So I had to go to Lou and say, "I'm sorry, Lou. I can't work for you." So, "I have to go in the army." So I spent two years in the army, and was able to visit France. That was a basic part of my duty, was as a medical records specialist in a hospital in La Shapelle, France. It was a real fine duty there. I was able to see a good part of Europe because of my experience in the army.

DH: Looking back on that, that would have been, that would have changed everything if you had taken that banking job.

JH: That is correct. I've often thought about that. If I had, I probably would still be working at the bank. [Laughs] But I think I would have made a good banker.

DH: What did you think of army life?

JH: Well, army life is not for everybody, and.... Although, it was enjoyable because, when you reflect back on it, because you meet so many facets of people, and you're forced to live with them. And so, [Laughs] I learned a lot of good things, I learned a lot of bad things.

DH: Was there a lot of racism towards Japanese?

JH: No, there wasn't. As a matter of fact there was hardly any racism. We lived with Hispanics, African Americans, all sects of life, and we all lived in this Quonset hut, and we learned to live with each other. I thought it was a very valuable experience, because I probably never would have been able to live with some of these ethnic groups otherwise.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.