Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Roy H. Matsumoto Interview
Narrator: Roy H. Matsumoto
Interviewers: Alice Ito (primary), Tom Ikeda (secondary)
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: December 17 & 18, 2003
Densho ID: denshovh-mroy-01-0049

<Begin Segment 49>

AI: Well, excuse me, before we get too far ahead, I wanted to just come back to this time in Jerome when the recruiter came and you heard that they were recruiting, and, but you were just saying earlier that some of the Issei and some of the Kibei said, "No, don't do that."

RM: "Don't go," yeah.

AI: "Don't go," and they, they, it sounds like they were pretty negative that if someone went there and, that they were going to put you in a spy school and you would end up spying against Japan?

RM: Informing against, yeah.

AI: So what did you think when you heard that?

RM: So that's why that I think that they're feeling the Issei and Kibeis --

AI: Some of them.

RM: And Kibei was trained that way, but since a lot of Kibei in the school so they volunteer with most likely willingly or more or less because some people, well, wanna join but they're not qualified at this time. Later on a draft came and I ask 'em whether you're gonna go or not, be loyal to States. And this is where the "no-no" boy comes in there. But other than that, our time, just your own choice whether you wanna go or not.

AI: So when you, when you went to find out about this, what did you hear from the recruiter? Or what did they say?

RM: Well, some people tell 'em, "Don't go because that's a spy school," and then, that come out and say "spy." 'Course, some of the people end up in that way, but some of 'em just the translator, or some schoolteachers teaching Japanese, but they didn't know exactly what that is but the army wanted. Now they don't wanna take, before, now they wanna take it so it mixed emotions to me, too. When I wanna join they reject me and then, in the camp. But now my main objective was to get out of camp, at least freedom, even though army, you get weekend and go out to movie or go restaurant. But fortunately, me, and knowing the Japanese, I didn't have to study.

AI: Well, now, before we get there, because I do want to find out about that, but when you then decided that you were going to go ahead and volunteer, what happened, what was the procedure? You volunteered and then you were saying that it was the Veteran's Day holiday?

RM: Yeah, so actually what happened was they took us name and gave us a serial number and my serial number is 18184261, that's the Eighth Army area so that's why eight comes in and one stands for the volunteer, not the draftee, so one number is all the voluntary enlistment so there's a proud of because willing to serve, other three number is all drafted people, see, so if you look at it, they know who volunteered. So if you complained, you volunteered, because they, you already branded, you're volunteer starts with number one. So you could look at it and see whether he's a volunteer or not then where he come from right away. So there's the Eighth Army district is around the middle east, middle west, so... Hawaii is three, nine or somethin' like that that and then seven and you could say three, seven; three, five; or one, eight or one, seven; or you started with a one then my number happened to be so they know right away, oh, you came from Arkansas. Arkie. [Laughs]

AI: Well, so you said that then you were inducted, right --

RM: Uh-huh.

AI: -- right after Veteran's Day. And you were inducted right there at camp? Is that, or what happened?

RM: Well just give, but then wind up that we have to sneak out early in the morning.

AI: Really? How come?

RM: Yeah, because of some guys against us, might harm us. We don't know.

AI: Oh.

RM: But it didn't happen to our camp, but we're the first group that sneak out of camp. Same thing happened I think at McGee, too.

AI: So when you say "sneak out of camp," what happened? What did you do?

RM: I mean, line up and get on the bus and went to railroad station in McGee and then hit; went towards Fort Snelling and that's where issued army uniform. Then get on the bus and went to Savage.

<End Segment 49> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.