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AI: Well, now at this time when your children were growing up, did you or your wife ever talk to them about what happened during World War II or about the camp at all, camps and the discrimination you had faced?

PB: No, I don't recall that we did. I don't recall that we did. However, maybe you are aware of it, but both of my daughters, we encouraged very strongly to find out about these things and get involved. And as a result, that once they'd become attorneys and were very active in the law area, mostly pro bono, which is donation, my youngest daughter in San Francisco, my oldest daughter opened her office in Seattle, but both of them were, got involved in what was called the cases relative to Hirabayashi. And one of our daughter-in-law, incidentally, was also involved from Salem, Oregon. She was at the law school there. So my two daughters and my daughter-in-law were involved in that case that eventually was going to go to the Supreme Court but never was settled there. And so I think that without a lot of discussion with them, they, themselves, through their study and their involvement in the law case, found out more about evacuation than a lot of other people will ever know of what happened during that particular time. So I think that is very important and valuable. And I would suggest that families that have younger children or younger people or adults that don't know about evacuation and what happened and the subsequent action that was taken, that they ought to look into it. It's interesting. It's part of our history.

AI: Well, another question I have about your children's growing-up years -- it sounds like you and your family were part of creating a very active Gardena community, many community institutions there that were primarily Japanese American. And so there were many choices for your children to be involved. Were you ever concerned that your children might face prejudice and discrimination because they were Japanese American, as you had faced when you were younger?

PB: No. We encouraged our children to be active. And I remember that my oldest daughter was going to a university, and I happened to be in Sacramento. As a result, I knew of law schools, particular that were part of the united -- part of the California school system. My youngest daughter decided not to go to a school that was in California, because she said there may be a conflict of interest where people would say, "Well, your father is pulling strings to get you into law school and get you out." But I did encourage 'em, all of 'em, to get as much schooling as possible at the best school possible because that was important. And that's why I say when I came to what I consider the age of retirement in my, at my age, at that time was fifty, I felt that my children had an education, they could make a good income, and the work that they were doing, that it wasn't necessary for me now, because I had supported them, supported them through school, that I should take it a little easier. And as a result, I could spend a little bit more time for the community and to donate my time for the furtherance of society.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.