<Begin Segment 17>

TI: So going back to your father, so what kind of scrutiny did he come under, or attention?

VW: Well, let's see. It wasn't until about late 1942, like late, I mean like maybe July, something like that, 1942, that the state police called me. I don't know how they decided that I was in South Bend, but they finally found me, and I was already flying out of South Bend at the time. But maybe before we get into that, I'd like to explain that I did get my private pilot's license in late February. And little did I know that the executive order had been signed or anything, I didn't know anything about it. And, but I graduated, and then I had to make a decision. Would I continue flying, flying? They did have a program, the government did, called War Training Service. They needed, they needed pilots, and that was a pilot training program, so either I had to go there, or I had to, I could stay in school and be drafted to the army or whatever. And so I chose to continue flying because I felt I was pretty good at it. And so I went to, I joined the War Training Service called WTS, and I quit, I resigned from college. And my next flight, the next program was in Bendix Field, Indiana, (...) South Bend, Indiana, at Bendix Field, and that's where I went for acrobatic flying. And I, that's where I really excelled in flying, I really did. And I could tell that I had a gift of knowing how flying felt. I knew how to maneuver that plane to get the most out of it, and to never stall it. I knew when we were approaching a stall, and I could feel it. I knew. And so I felt that God had given me the gift of flying. And so I utilized that in acrobatic flying, and became the top student in acrobatic flying. And then things started happening. I graduated from that program...

TI: And about what time was this?

VW: It was about in July 1942, and maybe the end of June, something like that. And someone, I went to go into the next program and I was already starting into the next program on two flights two different days of flights. And I went out for the third day, and the manager of the office said, "There's a CAA inspector here that wants to see you," and I wondered why. And she didn't say anything, but I could tell that there was something wrong. And she said under her breath a little bit something about a license or something. And I thought, "This is funny. Wonder..." and she said, "He's over at the tower, and, he asked that you come over to the tower." So I walked across the field and I knew that there was something going on. I wasn't sure. I knew it wasn't because of my poor flying, because I was the top student. And so I climbed the stairs, and Mr. Humphrey saw me coming. And I opened the door, and he was there and shook hands with me and said, "Thanks for coming over." And then he was embarrassed, I could tell. But he says, "I have to ask you for our license." And I waited for him to explain why, but he didn't say anything. And so after waiting a certain length of time, I reached in my pocket and pulled it out. And I didn't ask. You know, we weren't... he was an authoritative person from the federal government, and he was an (experienced) flight inspector, and so I didn't ask. I should have, but I didn't.

TI: But what did you think, though? Did you suspect that it was because of your Japanese father that they were taking the license away? Or did you know?

VW: Well, I didn't know.

TI: Did you have any suspicions about what that might be?

VW: I did have suspicions, yes, that probably because of my Japanese background, but I wasn't, I didn't know for sure. So I reached in and I gave him a license, and then he said something about, "I'm sorry," or something like that. And I descended the stairs and went back across the field. I just hated to go back into the terminal office again, but I did, because I wanted to say that I was through with the program.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.