Densho Digital Archive - Joe Yamakido Interview (denshovh-yjoe

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AI: And was this late 1943, or was this -- no, this would have been --

JY: No, no, this was '44.

AI: 1944.

JY: And I was supposed to go to Gila. But when I was getting on the train, I was saying goodbye to my friends. See, they, they didn't go on one train, one group, they go couple group because too many people. And some of my friends were going early. I went to, on the train, I went to say goodbye. U.S. marshal arrested me while I was at the train. But somebody ratted on me, 'cause U.S. marshal doesn't know who I am or who I look like. And he wouldn't even let me go back to my barracks and get my money or my toothbrush, anything. Picked me up and took me to Little Rock, put me in the city jail. I never, never found my clothes or money. I used to have money inside my clothes inside of a locker. Yeah.

AI: So did he tell you why he was picking you up?

JY: Oh, yeah, for, for not reporting for my physical. I got two physical notice, but I just ignored it. But since I'm locked up, they know where I'm at. I'm not evading the draft. How can I be evading the draft? I'm locked up, and I wrote it down on the number 27: I'm willing to go if they give me same right as Caucasian.

AI: So this was on the questionnaire, on the question 27 and the 28?

JY: That's what I wrote, and then, then when I went to city jail, they, they appointed me a public defender, but he didn't even visit me, not even once. He just showed up in court. I guess he just wanted the money. That's all.

AI: So what happened when you were at court?

JY: Well, I don't know anything about law, my public defender said, "Plead nolo contendere." I didn't know what it means. He told me, said that means, "I don't know if I'm guilty or not guilty." But the judge said, "That means you're (pleading) guilty." So he gave me three years. And then I found out the other people, the Caucasians, they were, the most they ever got is two years, and a lot of 'em got only six months, twelve months, eighteen months, or two years is the highest. And the Jehovah's Witness, they all got five years.

AI: For resisting the draft.

JY: Huh?

AI: That's how much of a sentence they got for resisting the draft, refusing the draft.

JY: Yeah. They was resisting it because they don't believe in killing a fellow human being. I give 'em a lot of credit, 'cause they, going to jail's not easy. You're locked up like an animal. I was there over two years, and three, three convicts went insane. They had to put a straightjacket on 'em, and they took 'em to an insane asylum.

AI: Well, so were you the only one from Jerome --

JY: Yeah.

AI: -- who was sent to court for...

JY: Yeah. I was the only resister. I didn't talk to other people. I figured everybody's got a right to their own opinion. I'm not gonna influence anybody.

AI: And so then, when you were sentenced, where did you, where were you taken for your incarceration?

JY: Well, in Texas, right on the border of Arkansas/Texas, so they call it city of Texarkana. But, see, the thing is... what was it I was gonna say? [Pauses] Yeah, going to jail is not easy. Locked up like animal.

AI: Were there other Japanese Americans at --

JY: Yeah, three from Rohwer.

AI: So there were four of you in this prison at Texarkana.

JY: Yeah, yeah. But they, they were convicted before I was. They were there before I was. But I'm pretty sure -- this is kind of early -- I'm pretty sure they, they want to really convict us, because if they didn't convict us, all the other people in the other camps would refuse to go. I think we were the early ones. I don't know. Because after, after the judge gave me three years, he said, "(Will the) witnesses against Joe Yamakido please stand up?" And three people stood up. I never saw 'em in my life. And he said, "You're excused." I guess they were gonna testify against me on something, I don't know what. They want to make sure I got convicted.

AI: That's strange.

JY: I know it.