<Begin Segment 10>

MN: Now, around this time, Pearl Harbor was attacked.

HY: Right.

MN: And can you tell me what you were doing on Sunday, December 7, 1941?

HY: Yeah. Friend of mine and I were, we were, we went to this theater in downtown. I think it was a million dollar theater in Main Street, downtown, and we were watching that movie. Pretty soon, they were, they announced that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Don't blame it on the people that's here, see. That kind of relieved the... and we got the heck out of there and we came home. [Laughs]

MN: What were your feelings when you first heard that?

HY: I was shocked, you know. Yeah.

MN: Did you know where Pearl Harbor was?

HY: Sure. I've been to Japan, you know, Hawaii. Went all around Pearl Harbor, took a tour back in 1938.

MN: So were you certain now that we're gonna go to war with Japan?

HY: Oh, yeah. That was certain.

MN: How about the car garage that you had a part time job? Were you fired the next day?

HY: No. They were my friends.

MN: Now, you said about a week later, something happened to your Japanese American neighbor. The FBI came.

HY: Oh, yeah. The Uyeno family... can I name 'em?

MN: If you want to.

HY: Yeah. The Uyeno family next door. And couple of FBI came over and grabbed the old man and took him away.

MN: Now, at that time, did you have any idea why they took him away?

HY: Yeah, I knew. I knew.

MN: Why did they take him away?

HY: Well, they participated in some kind of Japanese, you know, activity.

MN: You mean like the Japanese Association?

HY: Yeah, probably so, yeah. I don't know, I guess there's a bunch of dogs writing all these Japanese, all these old-timers, you know. Then the FBI, they gave it to the FBI and they just picked all those people up, see.

MN: Who were these informants?

HY: I don't know. You know, there's always a dog, you know, in every race. I call 'em "dogs."

MN: After Pearl Harbor, you experienced some harassment.

HY: Oh, yeah. My god, I would go to this store in Wilmington, it was about five, six, surround me, you know. Was gonna beat me up, tell me to get the heck out of so-and-so.

MN: So what happened?

HY: Well, I told 'em, "I'm gonna take one of you guys. Come on." Yeah.

MN: So at least --

HY: He had a big old machete, grabbed a machete. They all dispersed. [Laughs] Not only that, a cop stopped me coming over from Wilmington, and asked me to take the spotlight off my car. I told him I can't do it because people come and steal my vegetables, I shine the spotlight and scare 'em off. He said, "No, you got to take 'em off."

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.