<Begin Segment 3>

AI: So now, tell me about when you were in Bellingham. What year were you in high school then?

MW: I was a junior.

AI: And what happened, can you recall what happened on Pearl Harbor day?

MW: Yeah.

AI: What were you doing?

MW: Yeah, Pearl Harbor day, I was out practicing rifle shooting -- [laughs] -- which upset my father terribly when we got back home.

AI: So you had gone out in the morning before...

MW: Before we knew, uh-huh.

AI: ...and...

MW: And we were out for a couple hours.

AI: Who were you out with?

MW: I was out with a friend of our family's. And he was Japanese, too. He had come to visit. And we went out shooting.

AI: And this was something normal for you that you used to do?

MW: Yeah. Living out in the country we, yeah, shot a lot.

AI: And when you came back home, what did your dad say to you?

MW: He was very upset. He said I was very stupid, and didn't I know? And we told him, "No." And I don't know what he did with the rifles, but I didn't see 'em any more after that. He might have given them to some of his employees or something. They were just .22s, but I never saw them again.

AI: Now, when he had that reaction, what did you think? Did you know what he was talking about?

MW: Not really, 'cause I didn't believe it. But as the day progressed, then I understood that it did happen.

AI: And what was your reaction?

MW: Probably just a state of shock.

AI: Now, at that point, you, did you pretty much consider yourself an American?

MW: Yes, I did.

AI: And you, did you feel that it would have an impact on you, that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor?

MW: Not at the beginning because I had never faced prejudice all my years growing up. And then after the, they came and they took the radios, and I think my dad had a pistol and a camera, couple of cameras, and they took all that. And then, then I got to thinking, "Oh, it's going to hit all of us."

AI: When did that happen and who came?

MW: I think it was the police department that came. And it wasn't the day after. I know it was sometime after that they came.

AI: What did they do? Did they search through your house? What was it like when they came?

MW: No, they were polite. They came and they told us what they were after, and we gave it to 'em. And they took our word for that's all there was. There wasn't a search of the house or anything like that.

AI: What happened after that?

MW: I can remember going to school, but I can't remember whether there was any hatred or anything shown towards me. And then when the evacuation orders came, that's when we were told we could only take what we could carry. So my father told each of us kids that we could pick two items that we could take. And I took my stamp collection and a diary, and my brothers took little toys. And I think my baby sister took some paper dolls or something. But we were told we couldn't take anything heavy. And all our things were given away, first to his employees, and then what was left, we took to the children's, boys club, Boys and Girls Club at the YWCA. And the rest was just left in the house when we left.

AI: Was that a house that you had been renting or that you owned?

MW: No. That was a house that was furnished by the railroad for us to live in.

AI: And what do you recall of that day, your last day there?

MW: I really don't remember too much. I can remember after we got on the train. We were all crowded in and the shades were drawn. There was an MP in every car. And outside of that, I don't remember. I don't remember how they fed us or when they fed us or if they fed us, but they must have. And then getting to camp, I recall getting there waiting to be assigned to housing, but I don't remember too much about after that until we were in the unit we were assigned to.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.