<Begin Segment 30>

TI: Okay. So let's jump to December 7th, 1941, and why don't you tell me where were you when you first heard the news that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor?

HH: Well, I was in Seattle, and then I think it was Sunday morning, I think I, after I heard on the radio that the war, Japan attacked Hawaii.

TI: So what was your reaction? Here you were a political science, Far Eastern studies, and so you probably understood right away the implications of this. What were you thinking?

HH: Well, there was no, we never thought that there would be war. But when I heard that some of the leaders or so-called leaders of the Japanese community were being picked up by the FBI and everything, that I thought I better go back to Tacoma. At the time there was no restriction about movement or anything like that.

TI: Now, why did you think you should go back to Tacoma when you heard these leaders were...

HH: Because I didn't know what my father... and everything like that, so I decided to drive back by myself. And at that time, they were surprised, too, that war started.

TI: But I'm curious, now you're in Seattle, you hear about what's going on, you drive back to Tacoma.

HH: Yes.

TI: Do you remember driving back to Tacoma? It takes, it takes probably, what, forty-five minutes or so to drive, or maybe longer. Do you recall what you were thinking as you were going back to Tacoma? Was it, were you afraid, or what kind of things were you thinking?

HH: Well, I think I must have had the radio on in the car, and hearing different things, especially the declaration of war. And then after I'd been in Tacoma, I did drive around town just to see what's happening, but there was nothing going on with the police or anything like that, they didn't stop you or anything. Just, everything was as normal as possible, except the fact that everybody in Tacoma, I think, must have heard about the war starting.

TI: So did you see anybody, whether it was Japanese or non-Japanese, and can you recall any interaction with people about talking about it or anything?

HH: No, but of course, my dad had a grocery store, so that's one of the things I was worried about, whether there might be some problems or something like that, people reacting to the war.

TI: And were there any reactions, any of the customers?

HH: No, there was nothing. And then shortly after that, they, we were asked to kind of wear a little button that we're Japanese American.

TI: Explain this to me, I don't understand. So who gave you this button to wear?

HH: I think JACL or some group wanted to have a little button to wear that we're Japanese American, we're citizens.

TI: Oh, so that, so that you were citizens and that you were, I guess, a loyal American, essentially.

HH: Yes, we're American citizens.

TI: Oh, that's interesting. I never heard about this button. I've heard of the buttons that the Chinese wore that says, "I'm Chinese."

HH: This is what happened after the war, and the Chinese started wearing buttons because of the civil war in China and everything. So that's what they did after the war.

TI: I'm curious, when you wore this button, "I am Japanese American," did you ever get a reaction from anyone when they saw that button?

HH: No, I think there was some reaction, I heard, later after that, even in Tacoma in Seattle, that some people resented or something, but nothing serious happened.

TI: Now, how about your parents? After the bombing by Japan, did you ever hear them talk about what happened, or did they ever talk to you about what happened?

HH: No, the thing was that where our grocery store was, across the street was a USO. And so I kind of worried about the fact that the grocery store -- this is not right at that time, but after -- because of the fact that there might be soldiers going to the USO and everything else, and see a Japanese grocery store. Although the name of the grocery store didn't have any indication that this is a Japanese grocery store.

TI: So that is interesting. So you were concerned, because at some point, a USO office was right across the street, so this is where soldiers would go to relax and drink, I suppose, and do things like that.

HH: Uh-huh. Because Fort Lewis at that time was Camp Lewis, Fort Lewis was not too far away, and soldiers would be coming into Tacoma.

TI: So were there any incidents of soldiers coming into the store or did anything happen?

HH: No, we didn't have any troubles, breaking windows or anything like that.

<End Segment 30> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.