Densho Digital Archive - Betty Morita Shibayama Interview (denshovh-sbetty-01-0032)

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AI: Well, then as you and Art were becoming more serious about possibly getting married, well, getting engaged, and you found out about his, his legal status, that he didn't have legal status in the country yet. Did, were you concerned about that or did you have some worries?

BS: Oh, yes, because I wanted him to become a citizen but he said that he was going, he was reporting to the immigration office and they wouldn't give him any, really, solution. All they did was on, was it January, in January they have to fill out that alien form and that, but, yeah, I was concerned that, I was hoping that he would eventually become a citizen.

AI: But at that point, that, when you became engaged, he could still be deported to Japan?

BS: Uh-huh. Well, when we became engaged he was in the service.

AI: Oh, already.

BS: He was drafted in... we started dating in late '51 and he was drafted in April of '52. And then we became engaged because he was gonna go overseas. We became engaged in September of '52. So we thought, "Well, he's in the service so he'll get his citizenship," which we thought would be automatic. And so I wasn't concerned, so concerned with that.

AI: Because you figured once he was in the service they were not going to deport him to Japan.

BS: Uh-huh.

AI: As long as he was in the service.

BS: Service, that's right. [Laughs]

AI: And little did you know that his citizenship was not going to be granted right away.

BS: That's right, that's right.

AI: Well, so then while Art was in the service and he went overseas, then what were you doing during this time? You were still working in Chicago?

BS: Uh-huh, uh-huh. I was working and living at home and waiting for him to come back. And then when he came back, he, we were engaged for a long time, 'cause he was gone for a year and a half. Then when he came back he wanted to go to school, some kind of trade school. So he went to mechanic school so that was like another year. So we were engaged for about two and a half years and then, then we got married in '55, April of '55.