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TI: Now, I want to go back, when you first started living with the Grays, this was about 1941, and I'm curious, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, do you recall that? And if so, what were thinking and what were people saying when that happened?

CS: I remember 1941, and I was actually with the Grays in '42, 1942. So I was in boarding high school in 1941, on December 7th of 1941. At that time, I did not know the difference between Imperial Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans. In fact, I never knew a Japanese American at that time. And so my thoughts were generated largely by the war propaganda, the caricatures of Japanese with long teeth and all those other terrible things that we were doing to generate feelings against the Japanese during the war. And like everybody else, I just assumed that this was a vicious attack by a vicious people against the wonderful Americans, who are great democrats who loved everybody despite all the disrespect they had given to we persons of color over the years, and Native Americans over the years. But Americanism was the thing. I'm a flag-waving patriot then, and even now. And I'm very proud of my status as a retired marine in the United States Marine Corps. Because that's what I am, an American, true to the core. But at the same time, I intelligently can reflect upon the evils of our system, which have mistreated so many people for so many reasons, many of which have been absolutely wrong. And so, but my reaction December 7, 1941, "What a terrible thing those terrible people have done to us wonderful Americans."

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.