<Begin Segment 35>

AH: So is it fair to say, as a transition into what went on at the draft thing that, what was happening in these months between the registration and the draft, is that you were starting increasingly to take on the camp, and then a little bit later you're taking on, really, the United States government?

JA: Yes.

AH: So, how did that come about, with the announcement that the draft was going to be re-instituted which, of course, meant that the 4-C status was going to go to 1-A. And this was sold as sort of the first step towards the restoration of your citizenship rights.

JA: And here, I'm saying, "Restoration, what do you mean restoration? In the first place, you shouldn't have even taken it away from me and what right, what cause, what due process?" None. So I'm getting to say, "Hey, I'm going to put the monkey on your back, government. You did all of this and now you're blaming me for it." I said, "No, I'm not going to do that, I'm going to fight you."

AH: Did you talk to other people about that at the time when it first came out?

JA: All right. That's when I went to talk to Min Yasui, because he was released from wherever he was. And I said okay, here they're trying to reactivate selective service and so forth. I said, number one, I'm not going to be like Heart Mountain, organized to fight this thing. I'm just going to agree with the government and say, "Yes, government, you did everything. You took away my citizenship. Here you put me into 4-C. 4-C," you look up your selective service, no military obligation. Therefore, I'm accommodating the government and that was my position.

AH: And how long were you holding that position before you had to put it to the test?

JA: Okay. Now, I talked with Min Yasui, I shouldn't have talked to him. But what he said -- he went through a trial -- he said, "There's no justice anymore. It's going to be a mockery," it's going to be... what do you call it?

AH: Kangaroo court.

JA: Kangaroo court. And that's the only thing, he was right. When we went to trial, by the time I took my, they told me to take physical, fine, so I did. I took my physical. I didn't... so, what I did was, I took the physical and I had twenty days to appeal my 1-A or whatever they... they told me to take physical, I took physical. There are other people who said, "No, I'm not going to even take physical," but I said, "Hey, you guys should take physical and appeal, that's the law. You have that right." I'm always following the law. So I took the physical and I appealed, saying that I was not being able to get out of camp, I was held there, just like prisoner. How come, 1-A? And if I can't appreciate my being a citizen, just leave me as 4-C. And they had to answer me back in twenty days. They never answered me back. And I'll show you what they did. The camp sent a letter to my draft board saying, "This guy won't go."

AH: Where was your draft board then?

JA: Here.

AH: In Seattle?

JA: Yeah. So what they did was write to my draft board -- I will give you a copy of that -- saying that as a favor, as a suggestion and a favor -- tamper with his induction, and that's exactly what they did. June 10th, this thing was...

AH: 1944, right?

JA: '44, and I was supposed to have been inducted at the camp hospital May 21st. How could I be at a place when I don't even know that I was... and that's what they did, that's how far they went. And then also they sent the FBI -- and I'll tell you, they're ready to kill me...

AH: The FBI?

JA: Oh, just about. Because I came out and because they rapped on the door -- not just knock-knock, bang-bang.

AH: On the barrack?

JA: Yeah, and I wanted to know who in the hell was doing all that, so I came running out and boy, they just took off and went down the stairs. They opened up their suits and click, unbuckled their guns. At that time, if I made any motion, they could have killed me right there.

AH: So you probably threw open that door fairly aggressively, too.

JA: Oh, yes I did.

AH: You were going to kick a little butt again, weren't you?

JA: Yeah, I thought it was some guy that I'm going to be kicking butt. And here, they just... once they got up there they flashed their thing, supposedly it was the badge. And I didn't know until they got out there they were FBI. And once they opened up their coats and clicked their holster, I just thought, gee, I'd better not go through because, dead man.

AH: Right. And so then what happened?

JA: And so, I showed them this letter from the board dated June 10th. I was supposed to be inducted 25th. And I said, "How can I be there when that thing is five weeks earlier, and I didn't get that notice until sometime later?" So I was way beyond and I was violated. So when they read that they just backed off and said, "Okay," and walked away.

AH: Really?

JA: Yeah, and they wanted that. And I said, "No." That's where Kenji Ito was assigned to get that away from my barracks. And that's where I told Kenji Ito, "Don't screw around, I'm going to bang you up." And he wanted that letter. He must have been told by FBI, "You better get that letter."

AH: Incriminating?

JA: Yes, incriminating me. So I saw all of that, so I...

<End Segment 35> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.