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MN: Okay, so Rose, I want to ask you about Manzanar now. Let's go back to 1972, you're still a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, but you still had time to be involved in the Asian American community, and you incorporated a lot of nonprofits. And can you tell us some of the nonprofits you helped incorporate?

RO: Sure. One of 'em was the Asian Educators, Francis Nakano, I believe, was the principal, he approached me. I think Sue Embrey came to know me through that organization, 'cause she was a teacher at L.A. Unified School District. Asian Pacific Women's Writers, Manzanar Committee.

MN: And that's the really important one. And now, Manzanar at that time also received a California State landmark designation, which was very contentious. And then after that, Congress authorized the review of all the ten WRA camps and found Manzanar to be the most intact. So at this point, Dan Olson from the National Park Service's Western Regional office had the job to conduct the study, but he wasn't getting anywhere. So, because Manzanar sat on the Department of Water and Power land. So somebody gave Dan your name in the mayor's office, so you got this call. Now, when you got this call from Dan Olson, what did, how were you gonna overcome this challenge?

RO: I had been assigned Manzanar. I mentioned Jeff Matsui, who was an executive assistant in the mayor's office, and he handled Asian American matters. I handled civil rights and criminal justice policy, but he assigned Manzanar to me. So I took the call from Dan and I said, "We'll talk to the mayor and we'll see that we'll clear approval with DWP. [Interruption] But also, I'd like to approach the Inyo County Board of Supervisors. Manzanar lies within Inyo County. So I wrote a letter to the board, and I asked to meet and have lunch at the Big Pine Cafe. And some time later, I got a call from the Inyo County Reporter, and he said that Keith Bright, when he read the letter in the board hearing room, he threw it on the ground and he said he had served in the Pacific War, and was I one of them? Anyway, the day arrives for our lunch meeting, and they were all gathered in the Big Pine Cafe, and there were other supervisors and some guests. In fact, one of the supervisors brought a Japanese American medical doctor who had been interned in Manzanar from Mammoth. So I said, "Which one is Keith?" And I motioned to him and I said, "Let's talk." And I buttonholed him outside, and I said, "Look, you know, what don't you want?" I know that there's a lot of sentiments against, there's a lot of residuals from the California designation fight, and that I'm gonna make certain the Japanese American community wants what's best for Inyo County as well." I said to him, "What do you need?" I said, "You need economic development. If you build the site, the more reasons to stop, eat, visit, buy gas. Look at it this way." And he looked at me and he said, "Let's get to it." And I want you to know that the congressman from that area was a Republican, and that while I had connections with Mel Levine, who introduced the bill from Los Angeles area, we would never have succeeded but for the support of the Republicans led by Keith. He was viewed as Mr. Republican, but he did more than that. He, I would go up there and he would, I would meet with Indian Paiute leaders, that Manzanar was occupied by the Paiutes before the army drove 'em out. I met with families, descendants of the early pioneers, the apple growers, who were all removed by DWP. Keith opened all those doors, but he's the person that bared the brunt and the political backlash. There were others. There was Bill Michaels, who was the head librarian of the Eastern California Museum. Here in town, I'm, we're here in L.A., and it was very ugly. If you review any of the Inyo County papers during that time, our first superintendent, Ross Hopkins, was subject to death threats. And here's a person whose father, who was killed in the Pacific. And he stood by and fought hard for the establishment of Manzanar. The bill had already passed, but this is during the process where we're trying to transfer the land.

MN: Let me go back to Keith Bright and Bill Michaels, but especially Keith Bright, 'cause he's an elected official. During this time, did he ever say, "Rose, I can't help Manzanar anymore, it's gonna hurt my reelection"?

RO: And that's why I admire him. I don't think he gave it any thought. He's an old-fashioned guy, a man of principle, and he thought once he learned that -- you know, let me back up a ways. Most people believe the internees were Japanese. They clearly did not know that anyone volunteered for the U.S. Army and served. I'd like to share a story of how...

MN: I'm gonna get to that. This is where you're gonna be talking about the public meetings, is that...

RO: Yeah.

MN: Okay. Share with us, then. Now the National Park Service is setting up these public meetings. You have no idea who's gonna be there, you have people like Lillian Baker out there. Tell us, how did you, how were you gonna take this challenge?

RO: Well, I thought that this is not a time for lawyers, this is a time for real people-to-people conversations. So I asked about, for some 442 vets that would be willing to come with me to Inyo where the public meetings. And I wanted someone that would be comfortable in interacting with maybe even some unfriendly crowds. And I found two wonderful vets, one, Hirotaka Sugawa, the other, his name escaped me, I believe it was Shiro. And the day of the hearing, I said, "Let's meet for breakfast." And they showed up, and they had on their jackets and medals and their hats, and I said, "Wow." As we approached the hall, we crossed paths with this World War I vet, his name is Bernasconi. And he was sent to oppose the designation. And when he saw these two Japanese American vets, he just stopped in his tracks. And he said, "I didn't know you served on the American side, the same side." It was a very powerful moment. And then Hiro went in at the hearing and he just disarmed everyone. There were actually a couple of activist leaders from L.A., and I said, "Let Hiro talk." 'Cause I was fearful that they would, you know, refuel the California designation conflicts. And Hiro, he just disarmed everyone, and he said, "You know, my name's Hiro, I'm not a hero, but I left internment," and joined with his friends, leaving their families behind. And there was no need to talk more. It was a slam dunk after that. There's some diehards always, but the good people of Inyo County embraced the project. So we had the support there, but the war was both in City Hall and also in the halls of Congress.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.