<Begin Segment 46>

TI: So when the questionnaires did start being answered, people started filling them out, was it pretty controversial in Tule Lake, the questionnaire?

HH: Yes, because by the time that there was lots of rumors going in, and I know some of the Issei would be talking about, like even in different areas, especially maybe not too much Tacoma area, which took up most of the area in Tule Lake, but we had California, Sacramento people and all that. I think they were more pro-Japan or something, rumors were coming out that they saw the Fresno newspaper or San Francisco newspaper article that somebody might have sent to them, that this is the kind of articles that they're talking about, was in these papers.

TI: Do you recall any of the rumors that were coming out of the sort of more pro-Japan viewpoints?

HH: Well, it all had the big question about, as far as the two answers that we had to give, especially the part for the allegiance to the Emperor. Well, for me, it wasn't, that wasn't a problem for me because my dad said that, whether it was officially registered or not, but he did say that I do not have dual citizenship. But that article that everybody had to sign, that created a problem in the immediate family, Nisei parents, Issei. See, most of the Nisei were not even, some were just grade school. Most of them were younger than like myself, I was already out of college. But even some of the athletes were still high school in the Courier League. So it did create a problem, especially in a family that maybe the father was more pro-Japan, Japanese or something.

TI: Oh, I see. So what you're saying is the ones who were underage pretty much had to go along with their parents.

HH: Yes, because they were not even legal age.

TI: Versus you, who, you were of age, so you would be able to make your own decision.

HH: Yes.

TI: And furthermore, your father had already sort of renounced your Japanese citizenship, so you felt no, necessarily a reason that you had to be loyal to the emperor.

HH: Well, I did talk to him about it, about the allegiance and things like that, and I said, "Gee, I can't answer that as 'yes' or whatever. I don't owe any allegiance to the emperor."

TI: And your father agreed with you?

HH: Yes.

TI: So in your case, you answered those two questions, those two controversial questions "yes-yes"? That you, I mean, 'yes'...

HH: No.

TI: Well, I mean, like the way... I don't have the exact questions, but if you answered "no-no," you were saying that you still had allegiance to the emperor. But you answered in a way that said that you had no allegiance to the emperor, and that you would, like, serve in the armed forces of the United States?

HH: Yes, that's why some of those that were incarcerated, they were called "no-nos."

TI: Right, because when they said --

HH: Both questions "no" and "no."

TI: Right. But you answered "yes-yes" to those two questions?

HH: Yes.

TI: Okay.

HH: And my brother did the same thing.

<End Segment 46> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.