<Begin Segment 27>

TI: So at this point, I want to kind of do more, kind of, reflections or looking back. Because I know that you've, you've spent time and you've wrote about your experiences. You also agreed to be interviewed. And I wanted to ask you, why do you think it's important that you and other Niseis tell your story?

EK: Well, I look upon it this way. You might say that my manuscript was a lonely cry in the woods, saying that, "Look, we had been, we were U.S. citizens, we've been treated this way, and this is not right." That was my lonely cry in the hopes that I would have a, find a kindred souls that would say, "Yes, yes, you're right." And also some [interruption] saying, "Yeah, now I understand a little better what you went through," and so forth. So it was more of a message of clearing my mind and heart of what had been mulling in my mind for, since 1942. It's 1975, and plus the fact that, well, I think a little bit more, another motive was that I hoped that somebody, some other people would appreciate what I wrote, and some of the Caucasian might say that, "Hey, there must be a truth in what this guy's saying," and so forth. That's sort of a feeling there. And that manuscript I wrote is not an autobiography, it is not a Densho, it's merely the musings and thoughts of a guy who, in 1975, wrote what was on his mind, and whatever's written there should be in the light of that period. Here again, another thirty-three years later, we're looking at it now, so it's a span of sixty-something years that had elapsed from the time of Pearl Harbor. So it's, you have to look at it in that context and whether some of the things that I have said may sound ridiculous and so forth, and romanticized, but it was not. It was something that I experienced.

TI: No, I think it's really valuable that you and others do that. Because I think otherwise, people won't know. The thing that I, I haven't picked up, and I'm curious, when you look back and you write about it, but I'm not quite sure. I want to ask you, do you feel bitter or resentful about what happened to you and other Nisei and your parents sixty-five years ago during World War II? How do you feel about this?

EK: Well, I have empathy for my parents and for all Isseis and what they did, because many of them, at the height of their professional careers and so forth, their lives were destroyed and they were, by the time they get out, they did not have the energy to continue, or the resources to continue. So for them, I feel very, what shall I say, sorry for them. For the Niseis, I think it's entirely up to the Niseis as to whether they want to go ahead and make something of themselves, or just say, "Shikata ga nai." So that, that manuscript all depends on the internal mechanism, order of whoever reads it.

TI: But how about for you? If you were to read this, or to think about it for your life, how do you feel about this?

EK: I think it's cleansing my soul a little bit. And I hoped, I had hoped when I wrote that -- of course, I was more gung ho when I was writing that -- I hoped that somebody would read this and so forth, and not say that, "Hey, this is just a bunch of theatrical grammar," or something of that nature. 'Cause there was a reason there, because I wanted people to know that here was a Nisei who somehow was born in the (West), migrated across the country, worked in Alaska, then I had, what shall I say, some experiences which were not, may not have been typical of a typical Nisei in Los Angeles and so forth.

TI: Well, I've come to the end of my questions now, and wanted to just ask you if there's anything else that I haven't asked you, like if you want to make, if there's just anything else you want to talk about or say while we have the camera running. Like if I forgot to ask you something.

EK: Well, I'm thankful that I've been given this opportunity to talk to you and to the people here in Densho and so forth. Because it does help me to, what shall I say, air my feelings and so forth, and to feel that you people are appreciative of what little I have said, so I am grateful for that.

TI: Good. Well, Eugene, thank you so much for taking the time. I know it wasn't easy for you to take this time to come here and do this. I so appreciate it because you were able to give us this different journey, this different path that we haven't been able to capture. Wyoming to Seattle, back to Wyoming, and then later on to the East Coast. So this helps enrich, I think, the overall story of what happened to Japanese Americans. Thank you so much.

EK: I'm glad to do it. Thank you.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.