<Begin Segment 27>

AH: And did you have other jobs connected with engineering after the solving that problem?

JA: No, that was all the way... that's what I was doing with the Bureau of Reclamation, and not only was I doing the Bureau of Reclamation work for camp, but they used to take me to a place called Burley, Idaho, and I would do some of their work. This was for Bureau of Reclamation, Southern branch, main office and that's where all of the surveyors came from or worked from. And if there were anything that be done, they'll take me over there and whatever they want me to do, I'd do.

AH: Were you the only one that was working for the Bureau of Reclamation?

JA: No, there were about four, five fellas, but I was the engineer of the group, so they'll take me. And I was on the stop order, I couldn't get out of camp, couldn't go out to school, couldn't go out to work, but when I'm sitting in a U.S. government car with a great big U.S. seal, U.S. license, they just let me go.

AH: Now, you weren't on the stop list by then, were you?

JA: Oh, I was.

AH: What got you on the stop list?

JA: That's the whole thing. I was doing... see, in Puyallup I went against the whoever that was trying to run camp. So the only thing I could recall my being put on the stop order is I went against and I went ahead and did it on my own to help the condition, to alleviate the... what shall I say? The condition.

AH: How did you know that you were on the stop list?

JA: Oh, when I applied to go out to school, remember I told you one of the fellows, one boy -- his parents left him and we took care of him -- he left for...

[Interruption]

AH: I was surprised to hear you say, a little while ago, that you were on the stop list this early. I knew later on there would be some reason for it but I wasn't quite sure why you were on the stop list and how you found out you were on stop list, so could you kind of talk about that?

JA: Okay. Shortly after I started working as an engineer for Bureau of Reclamation, instead of being sent way out to the border, I was working right in the administration building, that's where the superintendent was, right there. So, I was working in the construction area of... and I asked to leave camp to go to work, or just to be leaving, and Mrs. Yamada, who was the person in charge of approving leave, told me, "You're on the stop order, you can't leave." So I heard it from a person who was issuing 'okay' to leave camp.

AH: And the reason you, this frustrated you is because you had somebody -- I think we had a little technical difficulty -- and I'd like you to repeat that about going to school and why you thought you could go to school, too.

JA: Yes, or go out to go to work.

AH: But, I mean, you had this fellow that your family had...

JA: That's right, kinda adopted, right, he left and he was good -- I mean, he just left.

AH: And went to a university somewhere?

JA: Now, I don't know where, but there was two place I wanted to go. One was Minnesota and one was Texas so I tried to go to Texas and Mrs. Yamada told me, "You can't leave, you're on the stop list."

AH: And did you put two and two together that it was because of what your activities had been at Puyallup?

JA: Phew-al-lup.

AH: Phew-al-lup, right?

JA: Phew-al-lup.

AH: Phew-al-lup.

JA: Right. So why did I get... then I'm starting to think, "What caused me to be put on stop list? Who's putting me on the stop list? Why did I get put on?" So the only thing that I could see is what I did in camp. I went against the, whoever was trying to run camp and instead of... I just ask the chef, "Can I do this, this, this?" And I'd say the heck with these guys who's trying to... they're just trying to kinda elevate themselves without considering the suffering of the people below in camp.

AH: Have you, in recent years, been able to avail yourself of Freedom of Information Act materials that indicate that, in fact, there was somebody responsible for you being on the stop list?

JA: No, I haven't.

AH: You haven't?

JA: And I'm very curious.

AH: So this is a surmisal, and was then, but it makes a lot of logical sense to you?

JA: Uh-huh, because I was going against the group who was trying to run camp and I could see their shortcoming, so I want to run the camp much better, and I was getting into their business.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.