<Begin Segment 19>

TI: So let's talk about leaving Crystal City. So describe when you found out you were gonna leave Crystal City and how you felt about that?

SI: I thought it was great. Finally we could leave this camp. Because all the time that I was in camp, my hope was that I could get out. I would always be thinking, "Why are we here? Why are we in this camp, and when will we get out of this camp?" So when we were told that we could leave now, we're gonna go, that was a big day for me.

TI: Now, was that about the same time lots of people were leaving?

SI: Yeah, there were quite a number of people leaving. There was a whole trainload of people that boarded the same train that left for California. And, of course, many of them got off in Los Angeles. We stayed on the train all the way up to Seattle.

TI: And so this was after the war with Japan had ended?

SI: Definitely, yeah, after the war was over.

TI: And when the war ended, do you recall, especially with the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagaski, do you recall any conversations about that in camp?

SI: All I can remember is the day that the war was over, the boys were out in the softball field playing baseball. And we were playing the game, and then all of a sudden somebody came over to say, "The war's over, the war's over," you know. Of course, we all immediately stopped the game and went back to our homes to find out more, what's going on. And of course we all had radios in our homes, no shortwave, but just regular AM radios. So we were trying to listen to see what the heck's going on, you know. So I thought it was tremendous that the war was over, yeah.

TI: And what was the reaction of your parents during this time?

SI: I thought they were very happy that it was over, too. But I think some of the Isseis, they didn't know whether to believe it or not, until the emperor came on and he definitely said that this is over now.

TI: And what do you think the reaction of the Isseis were when they heard the emperor say that it's over? Was there a sadness, or what would you, how would you describe that?

SI: I don't know really. I can't give you an answer on that because each person's reaction is different.

TI: How about your mother and father? Did you get a sense of their...

SI: I'm sure that they had a tremendous sense of relief hearing that the war was over. I don't think there was any bitterness on their part or anything like that. There was a tremendous sense of relief that it's finally over.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.