<Begin Segment 7>

MN: Okay, 1938, when you were about sixteen years old, can you share with us what happened to your father?

HY: Yeah. You know, it was a Sunday night -- no, yeah, it was Sunday morning. He was taking his load to the market and had an accident. And he was thrown out of the truck, and the truck fell on him, and I guess he died instantly.

MN: How did you hear about your father's accident?

HY: Through my cousin.

MN: They came to your house?

HY: No, I guess he... I guess, no, the police officer came, I think, at that time. We didn't have no phone then, you know. The police came and said that there was a bad accident. So we had to, towards the end, he's in Georgia Street emergency. So we went over there, and sure enough, he's gone.

MN: Did they ever catch the driver, the other driver?

HY: The other driver was a, was a gypsy, I believe, and they were living in a tent. And they didn't have no money, you know, so we couldn't do anything. Seven years, it took seven years, you could sue 'em, but still, I guess we didn't, we didn't pursue it.

MN: How did your mother react to this?

HY: Tough. Real... it was tough.

MN: And how did you feel?

HY: Well, I felt, gee whiz, it seemed like it was the end of the world, like, you know. Sixteen and no father, huh? I had to carry the load.

MN: What did you do with your father's body?

HY: We cremated him and took him back, took Dad back to Japan.

MN: And then how long were you in Hiroshima?

HY: One year.

MN: Where did you stay?

HY: In my relative's. There's a lot of relatives around there, so I stayed there with my uncle.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.