Densho Digital Archive - Arthur Ogami Interview (denshovh-oarthur-01-0014)

<Begin Segment 14>

AI: So about when would that have been that you returned from the beet fields and then started in the hospital? Would that have been around Christmas time of '42? Or...

AO: Yes, it would be around that time. And when I came, returned from beet topping, I met this boy and he told me about the riot and that there was a few patients still in the hospital at the time.

AI: Who had been wounded --

AO: Wounded, yes.

AI: -- during the riot? So what did you hear about this riot?

AO: I heard about it after I returned from the beet topping and so this boy told me about the riot and the patients and some of 'em that were, that they were able to hide in the attic of the hospital so that they, the one that induced the riot would not get to them. And there were, I don't recall the number of persons that were transferred out to Death Valley and so they were protected there. And most of those were ones that were trying to help the government to reason with the people about what they need to do. And so those were the ones that were removed. And I don't think they ever came back to the camp.

AI: So, they were removed from Manzanar mainly for their own safety --

AO: Yes.

AI: -- because they had been helping the camp administration and there were some other people in camp who were very angry.

AO: Yeah, they were opposed to whatever, anything that the government wanted to do to them.

AI: And when you came back from the beet topping and you heard about this riot and about the people who were wounded, and the conflicts, what did you think?

AO: Well, I let whatever settled. I just wanted to start working as an orderly. And there were a few that, they used tear gas, some of 'em were, were, had effects of the tear gas, some had buck shots. And so I treated 'em, took care of them.

AI: Did you ever talk to them about what happened or how --

AO: Well, to me, I didn't ask them about what had actually happened because it was all over with and there were still problems in the camp. I would always hear from my parents about the, what we called, they called 'em inus, stool pigeons. That's, the Japanese call 'em inus and, but I didn't let that affect me. And whatever my parents wanted me to do, I did. So they wanted to go to Japan anyway. So...