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TI: So Hiro, the first part, we talked about your early life, went through growing up in Seattle, and we went up to the point where you learned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And then we're talking about, now, those months after. And at this point, you said you joined the army?

HN: I was drafted.

TI: So this is after...

HN: I wouldn't have joined the army.

TI: This is after Pearl Harbor you were drafted?

HN: Yeah, February. Two months after December. '42 I got drafted. I had to go, I suppose I could have gone to prison. I wasn't happy about it, but it did, it was a better alternative than going to -- I suppose, later in hindsight -- better than going to camp, isn't it?

TI: Yeah. But it's interesting because it's very -- what's the right word? I guess Niseis were treated differently in terms of military?

HN: Of course, we were treated differently.

TI: Well, no, I mean in terms of some Niseis wanted to join, but they weren't able to because they were Japanese?

HN: That's right. We were discriminated against. We were segregated.

TI: And you're probably one of the few people that I know of who, after Pearl Harbor, in the months after Pearl Harbor, you were still drafted by the army.

HN: Yeah, okay. But after the Nikkei went to camp, no more draft. You know that.

TI: Right. But so during that period, in like --

HN: They were still drafting.

TI: -- like in January, February, March --

HN: Yeah, February they were drafting.

TI: Were there quite a few --

HN: March they stopped. They stopped in March. Because camp, evacuation was coming, right?

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.