<Begin Segment 28>

AI: Well, so then during this period, you were... you did receive some letters from your father.

MK: Yes.

AI: And what, do you recall much about the kind of thing that he wrote you?

MK: The only thing I remember was, the few letters that we did receive were inked out in black. And some people had holes, I think they cut it out with razors so you had a holey, holey letter. But I, the one that I remember is, it was inked out. And just to know that you have this letter from Father. I mean, that itself was the comfort. Though you didn't get any meaning, at least you knew he was alive. It was his penmanship. So I think that's where we picked it up from, that he was alive, he was well, but the meaning, or his thoughts were not conveyed to us, not through the black marks.

AI: That must have been scary, just waiting for the next letter, just to know --

MK: Right.

AI: -- that he was still well. Well, then, at some point you heard that he had been transferred, that he was no longer in Montana, that he had been moved to...

MK: Lordsburg, New Mexico. And I think at that time he was asked if he wanted to repatriate to Japan. And I think my father consented then, because he knew that, from Montana, I believe, several men were interrogated and sent back to their family camps. But, being that my father was still sent to another camp, federal camp, that meant that he wasn't gonna be released. And then, so, at that time, he also said that, well, maybe the only other way we can get together is either go to Japan, and we can unite, or else go to Cryst-, or the other choice would be going to Crystal City. From, after the, you know, the war and all ... just only in the recent years I learned that what Crystal City was, a kind of an "ideal" camp where families were able to cook their own meals and be a unit. But of course, not knowing about that...

AI: And at that time you really didn't know what your father was going through?

MK: Right.

AI: But all you knew was he had been moved to Lordsburg.

MK: Right. Right.

AI: And then was he transferred one more time?

MK: No. So he had warned us that we may be going to Crystal City. So I heard that many times. And about going to Japan, but it was so far removed. I mean, I didn't know anything about these exchange ship, how they did it. So I didn't worry about it. And then, and then he was, I guess it was six or eight months later he was cleared and sent back to Minidoka to join us. But within a very short time, I think he was with us maybe one or two weeks, well, they chased him down and said, "Well, this is your last chance. There's space for you on the Gripsholm." It was only about ten years ago I found out why they had to chase him down. Because, well, the excuse was if my father was able to join us in Minidoka, well, that kind of met a big wish. But, but worrying about his first son in Japan, and his mother, well, that was another thing, but then I think he, he himself forgot about going to Japan, being repatriated, but because Gripsholm didn't have enough passengers to exchange in the prisoner of war exchange, and then my father expressed it once before. They came down and asked him, "Here's your opportunity. Do you want to be exchanged?" And so, in a weak moment, like I said, it was a pressure where he had just come back to Minidoka to join the family, and then because they didn't have enough passengers to exchange, well, they came and begged him to reconsider it. They didn't order us, but this was a request. So I have to remember that it was my father who consented to the repatriation under those circumstances, and same with my mother. And my mother kept saying, "Well, you know, I'm still, there's no treaty. I may just be sent, sent alone. I mean, you guys are citizens, so you can stay here, but" -- so, before we knew it, well, I remember my dad said, "Oh, it's gonna be better in Japan." And what else can he say? And so, within a week or so we were given a -- then sure enough, they couldn't get enough people to exchange, so it was postponed by one whole month. And this is something I learned later, only about ten, twenty years ago I read about that in the, from some papers from Washington. And, so, that's how it was decided that we would go back to Japan.

<End Segment 28> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.