Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Fred Hirasuna Interview
Narrator: Fred Hirasuna
Interviewers: Larry Hashima (primary), Cherry Kinoshita (secondary)
Location: University of California, Los Angeles
Date: September 12, 1997
Densho ID: denshovh-hfred-01-0001

<Begin Segment 1>

LH: Densho interview with Mr. Fred Hirasuna, interviewers are Larry Hashima and Cherry Kinoshita, Friday, September 11th -- is that correct? Or is it 12th? 12th. September 12th, in Los Angeles, California. Thank you very much, Mr. Hirasuna. I'd like to start with a few background questions here and find out a little bit more about you. Could you tell me where you grew up?

FH: Lodi, California. I was born there.

LH: Okay, and how long have you lived in California?

FH: All my life except for about five years in Minnesota during the war.

LH: So were you yourself interned during the war or you just...

FH: We voluntarily evacuated.

LH: Voluntarily evacuated to Minnesota. So what was that like for your family to go to Minnesota?

FH: Go to Minnesota? Very tough. You know, we moved in July of '42, but that winter it went down to 28 below zero. (...) I learned about snow and storm windows and all the rest of that stuff. Have your car outside you can't even make it start because, you know, the starter wouldn't move the engine it was so cold.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.