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TI: So Tosh, let's get into the second hour. So we had just finished up where you were now discharged at Fort Dix. And so after that, where did you go after you were discharged?

TO: Well, ultimately ended up in Seattle, but it was kind of interesting in that my sister was in New York City by then. And so at the time of discharge, the sergeant there says, "Where do you want to be discharged?" And I said, "Well, my sister is living here so I want to visit her before I go back to Seattle." And he said, "Well, you have to pay your own way back if that's the case." And I said, "Well, okay, that's the way it is." But in any event, I went up to the next guy and he says, "Well, what's, how come you're being, live in Seattle and getting discharged in New York City?" I said, "Well, the sergeant back there said, 'Well, you have to pay your own way.'" Said, "No, you don't have to pay your own way, we'll pay for it." So I said, "That's wonderful." So I visited my sister and then I went back to Cleveland, Ohio just to see some guys that I was working with and then I came back to Seattle. But from Cleveland I had enough money that I could fly home, and that was the first time I ever was on an airplane and that was a wonderful experience. And that was, I think, a DC-3, the little... but you know, the stewardess at that time I think were nurses. But anyway, I was sitting there and I felt asleep and I woke up, and they had this blanket over me, and I thought, wow. [Laughs] But it was a nice experience in flying home. And we made a lot of stops, of course, because of the propeller plane. And so it was really a thrill for me to fly home at that time.

TI: And the reason you flew, you said you could afford it, but you could have also taken a train.

TO: Oh, yes, definitely.

TI: And was it just because you were really curious about air flight?

TO: Yes, yeah, I wanted to fly. Yeah. That's exactly what it was, yeah. I wanted the experience of flying.

TI: So you make it back to Seattle, and then what's in Seattle? Are your parents here?

TO: Yeah, my parents lived out in the Renton Highlands. That was kind of a, I think it was housing that they built for defense workers at that time. I think they were working down in Boeing and Pacific Car and Foundry, I think, at that time, in Renton.

TI: And approximately what's the date now when you're, you come back to Seattle? About what month...

TO: 1947, I think.

TI: Okay, '47. Do you remember what season this was?

TO: Boy, I don't. I should have looked at my discharge papers, but no, I don't.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.