<Begin Segment 37>

TI: Yeah, we'll get back to that, Roy, but I'm curious, right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the FBI quickly started going through the community and started picking up the leaders in the community.

RM: Yes.

TI: One of which was Mr. Yamaguchi.

RM: Yes.

TI: Were you concerned when you hard about that? What was your reaction when you heard about that?

RM: Well, I don't know what happened to the family, because the husband was taken away and she didn't know... she got three kids to support. Of course, and they may had a savings, too, but they don't know what to do. And meantime, the dry cleaners operated because that's a client were all Caucasian and maybe few Japanese but who gonna... of course, other employees were handling that because they weren't picked that up, but just him, Mr. Yamaguchi was picked up. So I decided to help, not my own welfare. I don't care what happened to me but I wanna help this lady. So first thing is contact, then I says, okay -- this time they didn't talk about camp, evacuation, so, if it's your own, you could move to interior.

AI: It was so-called "voluntary."

RM: Yeah, so I thought, people talking about maybe go to Utah, Salt Lake City, or Denver, Colorado. That's why some people end up there, still there. But I thought, since I have a car, and then I could get the trailer, put things on and go there. But the people talkin' about, see, if you run out, flat tire, then rationed and especially even though ration you cannot get the tire. Of course, nobody gonna sell you, for the "Jap" you're gonna sell it, not even the gasoline, you know, might run out of gas, you get stuck there, so best not to move, let the government take care, then they gonna feed us, don't have to worry about. So I told 'em decided not to go. I went down and told them, so okay, then, go to. So I said, "I gonna look after you," because they... I appreciated what they did to me.

AI: So --

RM: And later on, after things compromised and I was sent back to States right away, twenty-four hour notice. I didn't mention that, did you? About compromise? I was undercover.

AI: Oh, I think, I think we'll talk about that tomorrow.

RM: Yeah, okay. Anyway, I met the lady after the war, after came back and she asked me to marry one of the daughters. But already I was married and I decide, so in Japan, so, but this young girl, was young, passed away about ten days ago. Sorry, but I...

AI: Well, so, getting back to that, back to this time where things are, are confusing and I understand there were many rumors about what was going to happen. And also, I think you had a curfew?

RM: Yes.

AI: And a travel restriction?

RM: Yes.

AI: So what happened to your job, because you couldn't travel all the way around to the delivery areas?

RM: Well, just during the daytime, you could move.

AI: You could still travel during the day?

RM: Yes, during daytime. So I did, made the deliveries. But nighttime, eight o'clock or whatever, you cannot go out. I watch the, listen to the radio or something like that.

<End Segment 37> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.