<Begin Segment 21>

MA: And how did you feel about redress? When the redress movement was happening and when it finally, the government finally apologized, did the formal apology and the monetary payments, how did you sort of feel about that?

GK: Oh, we felt very good. We thought it was a long time coming, and it was a real struggle to get that passed. And so yes, we were very thankful that it did pass, and that people were awarded something. It wasn't a lot of money, but it helped. So, oh (yes), we were very happy about that. And then they had this Commission on (Wartime Relocation and) Internment of Civilians?

MA: Right, it's the CWRIC.

GK: Exactly. I was one of the ones who testified when they came to Chicago.

MA: Really?

GK: There were, I think, about forty of us that day that testified before this commission of, what, ten people or something. So I gave my testimony then. So, (yes), we were glad that we had the opportunity to tell our story.

MA: How did you get involved with that, with testifying? How did that come about?

GK: Let's see... I think we were at a meeting of Japanese Americans, I can't remember what meeting it was, but they were asking for volunteers, "We want some people to testify." So I guess that's when I volunteered.

MA: And did you sort of have a prepared statement that you read?

GK: (Yes), because they said to keep it under five minutes. We were limited in how much time we had because there were several of us who wanted to speak. So yes, I had a prepared (report). We called that the oral testimony, and it was a short version of the other one, the written testimony.

MA: And who was listening to your testimony?

GK: It was this commission, and I'm trying to think who all was on there.

MA: Oh, the government-appointed commission.

GK: Right, right. And Joan Bernstein, she was a prominent lawyer, she was the chairperson of the commission, and then William Marutani, he's Japanese American, the judge, he was on it. And I think Edward Brooke and Dan Lundgren, I can't remember the others, but there were about ten people. Arthur Goldberg, who was on the Supreme Court at one time, and somebody, Father Drinan, D-R-I-N-A-N, was on the commission. I can't think of the others, but there were about ten of them.

MA: And what did you -- that seems like such a short amount of time, five minutes, to sort of sum up what your experiences were. So what did you focus on, do you remember your testimony?

GK: Well, I think I focused on the hardship that our family experienced, you know, because of my father's illness, and we were taken away from him. And I think that's what I tried to focus on. Then I told them a little about camp life, but it was mostly the hardships that we experienced at that time, where our family was separated.

MA: And from what I've read about the hearings, that it was a time when people started talking about camp again for the first time.

GK: That's right.

MA: How did you feel sort of going public with your story?

GK: (Yes), it was kind of strange, you know, because we hadn't talked about it or really thought about it for a long, long time. But it felt good to be able to tell that story because it was a long time coming, and I think, (yes), I felt good about it, and I think all the others who testified felt the same way. It wasn't until we were urged to talk about it that we did, and it felt good.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright ©2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.