<Begin Segment 34>

TI: So, let's continue. So we just finished talking about your children, and again, so we're right after the war, you're back in Seattle. And here now you had a lot of the Japanese American veterans returning to Seattle, also. And today there's an organization called the Nisei Veterans Committee, and I'm curious, how did that get started after the war?

HH: Well, I have to kind of think because when I was... I was also working at the Northwest Times, and we did have some contact with some of the veterans because there was a column that they had in there called "Ex-GI Joe." But I never found out who was doing the writing.

TI: So this was a column in the Northwest Times that was written anonymously? That it was just by "Ex-GI Joe," but no one really knew who it was other than Budd, I guess Budd would know.

HH: Yes, Budd would, I'm sure, have known. And we would get a column maybe about every other issue or something. But it was kind of a regular column started. But they were not talking about it, but in one of the articles, they had a little announcement about maybe forming an organization. And it was just like that, because we didn't have any kind of organization to have even a meeting or anything like that. And I believe that's where it started, a group of people who were kind of getting together and talking about it. I think it had something to do when we got organized, and then somebody started saying that maybe we should make it into a club. So we did have a meeting -- and during this time, now, most of the information about the meeting and Nisei Vets and everything, we were able to publish it in the Northwest Times, and that's where I was able to contribute any information or articles that needed to be in the paper.

TI: Now, I'm curious, as this group was organizing the Nisei Veterans Committee, this club and this group, when I think about other communities, other Japanese American communities on the West Coast, a lot of the veterans formed groups that were aligned with, say, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the VFW, or the American Legion. Why didn't the Seattle group align themselves with one of those organizations?

HH: Well, for one thing, it was more or less the main group of original veterans over here were from the 442nd, really, because they served together and everything and had contact with each other and everything. At the same time, they knew each other anyway. But, see, for myself, I was not in the 442nd, and I'm also from out of town, from Tacoma. But they knew me from before the war when I worked for the Courier, and I knew them, too, through that way. So it wasn't hard for me to get together with them because they would ask me to... they, I guess, assumed that I will publish any kind of information about meeting or something like that, I could have access to the Northwest Times. Because it was more of a Seattle community news, but any kind of information like that would be in the Northwest Times. But we didn't know how many of 'em were able to buy or were subscribing to the paper at the time, too, so when we have meetings, we used to get penny postcards and address it to the ones that we knew were veterans and had their addresses, we would mail out meeting notices or anything like that.

TI: Right, but I was wondering why the group, when they first formed the group, why they didn't become an American Legion organization or a VFW organization.

HH: Well, that's the idea that we were not all from the 442nd, and some of the Nisei were already in the service before the evacuation. And so we had... not like in Hawaii where it was more just 442nd or 100th. And so I think... and at the time, I think there was, in order to organize, the question came up about the American Legion. American Legion was not too much for the war anyway, second war, so I think they were worried about which veterans' organization that we could be affiliated with, because we didn't have any idea that we were going to form a separate organization. But we were able to be with the VFW organization, and there was a disabled veterans, because Nisei were also veterans, disabled veterans. So some of those people were already getting affiliated, and eventually even the American Legion Post, Chinese had become members when they had a post. But at the time that we were getting organized and everything else, even the name "committee," because we were chairmen. Just like in some other organizations, of course it was going to be a veterans' organization, but the name "committee," I know some people always ask us, why was it "committee" instead of "club" or such. But I think that was... and so the original commanders, so-called commanders, were just started as chairmen.

TI: Right. But I want to go back again, so I want to make sure I understand. So at one point, the group was considering aligning themselves with either the VFW or the American Legion?

HH: Any of the veterans' organizations.

TI: Yeah, either one. Right, so these were already established national organizations. So why didn't they? I mean, ultimately they formed their own separate group called the Nisei Veterans Committee. Why didn't they become like the Cathay Post, like the American Legion, or VFW? Why didn't they?

HH: Well, I think they didn't consider American Legion anyway. But instead of going into the VFW, I think they decided to form a club, a veterans club, but they named it the Nisei Veterans Committee.

TI: So they just decided that they would rather just form their own club rather than join the bigger one.

HH: Yes.

TI: And do you know why they decided that?

HH: Well, because there were so many people that were not in the 442.

TI: But the MIS guys, because many of them were fighting in the Pacific, and you also served overseas, wouldn't you be qualified to join the VFW?

HH: Yes, we could have joined, yes. But I think they thought that it would be better to just form our own independent organization. Like Hawaii, the 442 Club, instead of, it's separate from the national. And in those days, to form your own national organization like a Japanese veterans and such, it was very difficult to get your charter government to form a separate organization.

<End Segment 34> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.