<Begin Segment 16>

TI: Let's go back, so after the war -- you mentioned this earlier -- your dad was a redcap at the train station.

RY: Yeah.

TI: So the, the war breaks out, and you mentioned earlier that they fired all the Japanese redcaps?

RY: Yeah, they fired all the Japanese redcaps, so they got all the co-, I mean, African Americans worked there. 'Cause it was, I guess it was one of the cheaper labors that they can take. So they worked there for quite a while until I guess they couldn't, they couldn't handle whatever they were supposed to do too well. And the funny part of it is when I went back to help my dad when he was sick one time, that was about a month or two later, the African Americans are still working there. Those other redcaps went back to work, and I went there to help my dad out, I mean, take his place. And those other redcaps would say, "See how they, they took care of the marble?" It was, had to be mopped, and, "See how black it's gettin'?" They said, "Those guys didn't do it right, so now it's, now it's pretty hard to get it back." [Laughs] And they were, those Japanese, they were telling me about that, but other than that, went back to work.

Although I remember one time when there was one of these Issei redcaps was taking care of a, of a passenger, and I don't know what happened, but my dad was, said this guy was either teasing, teasing him or giving him a bad time, and he says he went up to him and tried to cool him down, and that Caucasian wouldn't cool down, so he said he gave him a footsweep.

TI: So your, this was your father?

RY: My father. My father gave him a footsweep.

TI: So was your father doing judo?

RY: No, he doesn't know judo.

TI: So how did he know how to do a footsweep, with a large, larger man, right?

RY: Yeah, well, watching me do judo, I guess. We never, I never, we never... he always used to come down and watch us do judo, and I think that's, that's where he did the footsweep, and that guy didn't, got up and didn't, didn't bother him anymore. [Laughs] But that's what he told me one time, he says, "Yeah, after that, he didn't bother us anymore."

TI: That's a good story.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.