<Begin Segment 21>

TI: So you answer the questionnaire, then what happens next?

HN: Sometime later, I don't know how soon or how far later, how later it was, but we were ordered to be shipped to Bismarck, North Dakota.

TI: So, why? Why would...

HN: Because -- oh, yeah, before that... then, in conjunction with the "loyalty question" they posed a question, "Do you want to renounce your U.S. citizenship?" And this also goes back to, if I renounce, the only thing I had is my family. I want to stick together and face the future together, so I got to stay with the family and they're going to Japan. If I don't renounce I probably won't be able to go to Japan. That was my way of thinking, some of my friends' way of thinking, so we said, "Okay, if government is gonna put us in this position, I'll renounce." All these are responses to the government, putting us in that position.

TI: Explain to me how the government presented this option to you about renouncing your citizenship. Was it a piece of paper? Was it an interview?

HN: Well, it was interview and a piece of paper.

TI: So an interview?

HN: Yeah, and sign off.

TI: And who interviewed you, do you recall?

HN: Yeah, I think it was a guy from Justice Department. Anyway, he identified himself as an attorney.

TI: And was this at the same time you did your "loyalty questionnaire" or was this after?

HN: I think it was separate. Or maybe... I don't, I don't remember.

TI: But it was a kind of one-on-one interview...

HN: Yeah, one-on-one interview.

TI: Was that pretty much the only question he asked, will you renounce, do you want to renounce your citizenship?

HN: Yeah, right.

TI: And do you have any kind of sense of was he, was he trying to lead you one way or the other?

HN: No, he didn't. It was... he just read it, and he asked why. So at the time he said the information never circulated and if you don't say strongly that you want to renounce -- "Don't just say, 'I want to renounce.' You got to give them a reason why you want to renounce, so you have to say you want to go to Japan and you want to be Japanese and, 'I will work in, work for Japan.'" Says, "If you say those strong, announce your strong opinion, then they will accept your renunciation." Those are the info that was going around, so I said those things. The attorney says, "Okay, you want to do it, sign that statement."

TI: And your thinking was you didn't really have much other choice. If you want to stay with your family, then...

HN: Yeah, right. Yes, that's the reason why I did it. You know, that family, at that point, that's the only thing I had. Just think about it. Eighteen years old.

TI: Yeah, I mean, what a difficult decision to put on someone that age. And so they went ahead and they accepted this, and did they do a similar thing with your brother, your older brother?

HN: Yes, he did. Well, my older... yeah, he did. Same thing.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.