<Begin Segment 26>

[Ed. note: This transcript has been edited by the narrator]

TI: Which reminds me, earlier you mentioned how your older sister was interested in chemistry and that you had converted one room...

SA: Well, they found that out, we were at the store when they came, and they consequently moved up to (our) house. And that really got my father in trouble, too, I think. Because we had burned everything, which is all right, but my brother had a shortwave radio, and we did have a movie projector, an 8 mm they had bought. We were doing quite well, so we had the projector. (But one thing they did not get was a) Japanese sword I had stashed in the garden and I never went after it (after the war). I'm really sorry I didn't, because (when I returned after the war) the freeway went over it, so it's buried in concrete. (...) Anyway, but they came to the "chem. lab," and they wondered why we had chemicals. So my sister said that was her chem. lab, (my parents) had (furnished it to) encourage her, you know, to let her do her homework (in chemistry at home), though she had moved out to the university area, because she's closer (to the university), and they wanted her to have time to study. But we had the beakers, (...) the sink, we had some (chemicals and) ingredients. So the FBI asked her if she knew how to make a bomb, 'cause there was some nitro glycerin or something. She said she did, and across the street from us, unfortunately, gearing up for the defense was the Western Gear Works, and they kept saying that she could make (a bomb) and throw it over there. I thought, "How ridiculous, she hasn't got a throwing arm anyway (and the distance)," we were the second house back, so you can imagine. But you know, there were ridiculous statements at that time anyway.

TI: And who was, who were making those statements?

SA: FBI agents.

TI: Okay, so they would say --

SA: There were two or three of them then.

TI: So they would write in the reports that she could make bombs, (and we're) across the street from the Western Gear company...

SA: Well, the curfew went in after that, too, but still, they, I think... some people say they trashed (their houses), but I must say, they were very nice (to us). They didn't go around trashing (our) place.

TI: And it was because, again, your sister was a chemistry student and she just had her own lab there. But she had, you said, nitro glycerin? That'd be uncommon.

SA: I thought, well, the ingredients that she could make a bomb is what they said.

TI: I see, okay.

SA: Now, I don't know the ingredients, but I mean, there was powder and stuff. I don't know what they do in chemistry. I'm not (knowledgeable) that way. She's academically very able, (so I guess she could).

MA: Was she ever questioned further by the FBI or only at the house?

SA: They weren't after us, but they had just made that as an offside remark, I think. But I don't know if they wrote it, but they thought it unusual, and it is unusual for that era. And I thought my parents were very forward-thinking to let her do it. It was her bedroom they converted.

TI: And during this time, was your father there also as they were going through the chemistry lab?

SA: Oh, yeah, they had him, all right.

TI: Okay. And so they were questioning him also in terms of why the chemistry lab and all that.

SA: Well, actually, I think more questioning my sister on that because (she spoke) English -- my father wasn't saying very much. But the amazing part was, when they turned to take him away, he had a suitcase already packed, and he had new underthings in (his bedroom). I think that's probably why he didn't ask my sister (when she went to see him). But whether they let him keep it is another story. But he was ready, and I think he did that from the first sweep, I think he was waiting. He never said anything, but I thought it was quite remarkable that (my father) was prepared.

TI: So I'm guessing, because of how prepared he was, he probably had conversations with your mother in terms of how...

SA: Well, I think he looked at what was happening, don't you think? I don't know what he was going through. He hardly spoke very much.

TI: And so they took him down to the immigration building, and so at this point, how was your mother reacting?

SA: Well, she had a lot of people coming to her for counseling because she could read and write. And they thought she was very able. So I think that occupied (her, and) then being in the church, too.

TI: Well, it's interesting, so that's, even though her husband had just been taken away, people were still coming to her for help.

SA: Well, they want to know how to pay bills and how to do things.

TI: So these were the wives of other men who had been taken away.

SA: (The) people in the neighborhood. So it was good.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.