<Begin Segment 9>

TI: And during this period, you mentioned how in that, one of the building, the bank building, they picked up a signal, someone was signaling. Were there other, other examples of cases where the people felt the Japanese were aiding the Japanese Imperial Army or Imperial Navy?

DK: Well, the fact that for the first thing, I imagine the officials thought that, like you were saying, maybe they didn't maybe trust Japanese Americans for their spying on there, but somebody had to inspire quite a few of 'em to cut that many tires during that time period. That was a very short time period. And they found several -- and I knew of one for sure -- was my brother's girlfriend's folks lived in, in a truck garden area south of (Bellflower). And their neighbor was a Japanese that was a real good Japanese truck farmer. He had one of these in a manure pile, they picked up that night. So there were several of them we could see --

TI: I'm sorry, they had what in the manure pile? That had...

DK: One of these big lights with a shutter on it --

TI: Oh, okay, so...

DK: -- to give these signals. So there was more, to me, there was a lot more people involved than, than the records show. They said there's no sabotage or espionage, and I, I guess looking in hindsight, fear probably had a lot to do with that.

TI: How so? When you say fear had something to do with what? The...

DK: Well, if they showed any of that after what happened at Pearl Harbor, that there'd be so many Americans up in arms, that they were in danger. If they showed any, any inclination of doing any sabotage or espionage.

TI: Oh, so... let me make sure I... so you're saying that if, if these stories were more publicly known, then, then the Japanese would be more at risk on the West Coast in terms of people getting angry and doing things.

DK: Right, right.

TI: So that's what you're saying. Because what you're, you're saying, so in addition to the, the December 14th -- so the tires were slashed as well as finding that Japanese truck farmer, the searchlight in the manure, the manure pile.

DK: Uh-huh.

TI: Okay. Any other examples? These are, these are all good, because what, what I like to do after these is to do more research to see what I can find, and so I was thinking if there was any other, other kind of examples or things that, that come to mind?

DK: Yeah. Well, my cousin, who I got to see a couple years ago and went in the service in Illinois in '44, I think it was, and then went to West Point to become a officer, he was a three-star general when he retired, he had the West Coast command, I think it's called the ninth -- at that time it was the ninth, I don't know what they call it now, he had the same job as General DeWitt who was making a lot of the calls that the president went by. And he was the one that was in charge of the West Coast when Fort MacArthur was turned over, changed from Army to Air Force. It's Air Force now, then it was Army. And he said those records went to Seattle in the archives, and that's where it'd be, I've had senators and congressmen trying to get them out, but so far I haven't got them.

TI: So probably in the National Archives up in Seattle?

DK: Right, right. So maybe you could get to 'em. [Laughs]

TI: Yeah, I'm going to go up there and check... so it'd be the records from Fort MacArthur, is what I should look for.

DK: Fort MacArthur from December 14 and 15 of '41.

TI: And I'm sorry, and again, the gentleman who was in that high command post, what was, who was that again?

DK: General DeWitt.

TI: Well, yeah, General DeWitt, but the other gentleman you're talking about.

DK: Oh, my cousin? That was General Henry.

TI: General Henry. And he was with the army?

DK: He was Air Force.

TI: Air Force.

DK: And he's, he's retired now, he served thirty-some years.

TI: Uh-huh. And he was in, sort of in a peer position to General DeWitt? So he was also at a really high level.

DK: Yeah, he wasn't at the time of this happened, but later years, in 1970s and '80s.

TI: Oh, I see. Okay, so later on. So he had access to some of these, these records?

DK: Right. Yeah, I think this, this incident took, I think he said '80 or '81 that they changed Fort MacArthur from Army to Air Force.

TI: Okay, and that's when he was able to view some of these, these records.

DK: Yeah.

TI: No, I'll, I'll go up there. I mean, it's not that far away, the, it's called the Sand Point Naval, or the National Archives regional center, so I'll do that.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2005 Densho. All Rights Reserved.