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TI: Okay, so let's start the interview. Today is Friday, November 21, 2008, and this is the second interview I'm doing with you. We had an interview, oh, last year in Las Vegas, during the Minidoka reunion. And so this is a follow-up interview. And what, I went back and looked at the transcript, and because we only had two hours, we weren't really able to spend too much time on your career, in particular, your foreign service career. So I wanted to come back and do a little more in depth, starting with your foreign service career, in particular, in Asia. So I'm going to start in 1951. So this is a little bit different, but can you first tell me, again -- and this is a little bit of review from the last interview -- why you decided to join the foreign service?
LH: Well, I think any number of reasons, including the fact that I was a political science major. And ever since being in the camp, I've always felt that service to one's country was really a worthwhile goal. That's why, after high school, I joined the U.S. Army. And when I completed college and got into the foreign service, I made myself available for any duty. And you'll see later as we go through the progression of my career, when I was asked to go to a war zone, and though I had opportunities to serve elsewhere through close friend ambassadors, I refused and went to Vietnam as I was asked to do.
TI: And so I'm curious, when you say it was because of the camp experience, you thought public service was important?
LH: Oh, absolutely.
TI: What was it about being put behind barbed wires that made you want to think about public service?
LH: Well, I think it's as simple as the fact that you're an American, but so many people felt you weren't an American, so you had to prove your loyalty. And the best way to prove your loyalty, at least for the ones a bit older than myself, was to volunteer for service in the U.S. military. And though I was in high school at the time, I was very envious of those that were old enough to go into the army. And that's another reason why I went in in '46 after graduating Franklin High School. An additional reason was the GI Bill, and I think that can be extended to the fact that I wanted to then become a civilian in the U.S. government. I think that was probably my strongest motivation.
TI: Okay, good.
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