<Begin Segment 10>

TI: So you were talking about Riverside as the point of embarkation, or disembarkation. Before we do that, while you were training at Catalina Island, that's nearby Los Angeles.

HH: Long Beach.

TI: Yeah, Long Beach. And this is the beginning of 1945, so the war's still going on. And I'm curious, did you ever get a chance to go into Los Angeles?

HH: Yes. If we go with a group, the GIs that were also sent with us to Catalina Island, so that they could prepare meals and everything else, I guess, and for security, too, while we're on Catalina Island, when they wanted to go into L.A., I could go with them. So they were always inviting me to go. And there was another Chinese fellow from New York that joined us in Catalina Island, not of our group, but anyway, he was also stationed with us at Catalina Island. And so whenever we went to town, I would have it with him, so we would go into Chinatown area or wherever, I was always with him, even though L.A. was more or less, Little Tokyo area, we could go in, and Chinatown area.

TI: Well, when you went into Little Tokyo, what was Little Tokyo like?

HH: Well, Little Tokyo was like, I didn't see what Seattle or other cities, how they were, even Tacoma, because we were more or less not restricted, but we were restricted within five miles, so I didn't know what the place looked like boarded up. And I heard that they were having some problems in some of the areas closed up by evacuation, business places and all that, but this was the first time I was able to see the Little Tokyo area with this Chinese fellow, 'cause he wanted to go into Chinatown area and have a meal there while we're out. But we were on per diem if we go off of our base, so we were all the ones on leave, we were on per diem. So we were always together, lodging, and where we were, when we went to Los Angeles, there was a YMCA nearby the headquarters area that all of us, I think it was eight of us, that one occasion that we went. And so we would all be in a double room, all eight of us. [Laughs]

TI: All eight of you in one double room?

HH: Yes. [Laughs]

TI: But I'm curious, when you guys went, when you -- especially you, when you went to Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, what did you see? What did it look like?

HH: Well, the Little Tokyo area was all boarded up with the signs "No Japs Allowed" or wanted, or whatever. So I saw all those signs and everything else, but it was deserted. There was hardly anybody in that area anyway. I don't know if it was segregated or anything, because there was nothing to indicate that except we could just walk around. Of course, we were in uniform anyway.

TI: And how did that compare to when you went to Chinatown, Los Angeles? What was that like?

HH: Chinatown was just like as usual, so when he said, we stopped at the noodle shop, it was run by Chinese, and naturally they just talked Chinese to both of us. And this friend of mine, he didn't say he's from New York himself, but he said he's from New York. He didn't say he was Chinese or anything, but I think they assumed I was Chinese. And says he's from New York and he doesn't speak Chinese. [Laughs]

TI: So the Chinese restaurant owners thought you were Chinese, but just weren't able to speak Chinese.

HH: Yes, that's right.

TI: Okay, that's funny.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.