<Begin Segment 22>

TI: Well, it's one of Seattle's big success stories, when I think of that... it's great to hear the beginnings, but now they went to a larger, newer building that you built, and it's now a large institution in Seattle.

TO: Right, yeah. I'm very proud of my... that's, I think in my lifetime, and like I said earlier, I felt a certain amount of guilt during the war that my buddies, so to speak, didn't. I didn't do my part in making our community better, but that was my contribution and I feel good about my part in what we accomplished and how we took care of our community. And that's also one of the reasons that I got involved in the Nisei Vets, was the Issei, of course, and that we need to help them in any way we could. So I was very much involved in getting the nutrition program established, me and Tomio, and I think Sally Kazama was, she was working for the state at that time, and she's the one that said there is a program for seniors, nutrition program. So she's the one that helped us get that going, too.

TI: This is the seniors program at the Nisei Veterans?

TO: Yeah, what became the, ultimately became the Meijikai, and now it's at the Kawabe House, as you know.

TI: And so that got you more involved with Nisei Veterans? Is that how you got involved?

TO: Well, I was involved before that, yeah. Because, well, as far as the Nisei Vets, as you know, when we came back with the discrimination, we hadn't, socially, we didn't have any place to go other than the churches. Of course, the Nisei Vets was kind of a natural for us because we knew a lot of the guys from camp and grew up, in the army and that type of thing. So that's what, socially, that was one reason that I joined. Then with the organization, being with the organization, I think the organization felt that we needed to more than just being a veterans organization, we should be doing more things in our community. So that kind of turned me on, said, "Yeah, that's great, so I'll work with you guys." [Laughs]

TI: Well, so there are two real key legacies. So not only Issei Concerns, which is now called Nikkei Concerns, which is thriving, but then your work with the Nisei Veterans, and they recently went through a remodel of the clubhouse. So there's going to be this legacy that will go to the, go on in the future. And I recall earlier you were talking about wanting, in some ways, to make sure that the men who fought in the 442 would be remembered.

TO: Right.

TI: And can you talk a little bit about that and your efforts to leave a legacy with the Nisei Vets?

TO: Uh-huh. I think that, along with my involvement with the National Monument, those two, I think that it's very important that we remember what the Nisei veterans did. But the bigger picture is what, as you're doing the same thing as what we are -- we should be supporting each other, by the way, we are -- not as much as I like. But in any event, that we, somehow we have to let our fellow Americans know, to tell them what happened. Not to be boasting about what the Japanese Americans did, but to make damn sure that our country doesn't go through something like that again. I think that this is a great country and I sound like I'm a flag-waver, but I think it's very important, especially as I get older, that these things don't happen to other fellow citizens. So that's my role in this.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.