<Begin Segment 31>

TI: So, Hank, where we left off was you were in Tokyo with your uncle, and you and your brother had gone to Tokyo to look for work. And I guess the question I asked was, given that your uncle had very little other than just the structure he had built, it was probably a, probably a little hardship for him to have two more people to come, to come live with him. So just talk about what you did when you got to Tokyo.

HN: Well, the cousin of ours, he was, I guess he must have just finished college before the... he took us around, and the best place to go was, there was any place where they use, need English translator. That's what my uncle says, maybe the best place to... And the only place that required, or basically required English speaking translator was with the U.S. forces, occupation forces. So we went to Tokyo, then somebody at the Tokyo employment offices recommended we go to Yokohama. That's where the Eighth U.S. Army headquarters was. So we went to Yokohama, and then immediately, I immediately got a job. We were probably looking for someplace which has any kind of connection with the food processing area, because of the food shortage, so I say, "Yeah," I says, "Red Cross doughnuts factory, they need a couple of translator." And this army lieutenant says, "Yeah, I'll make out the assignment and you guys take this over," and then we went there and they said, "Oh, we're glad you came over," and we started working for the Red Cross doughnuts factory. But by working for the Red Cross doughnuts factory we were able to get some doughnuts after work, a little box, and we took some over to our uncle's place. Repaid them for what they did to us. And my mother was also sending some products from the, Shizuoka. Anyway, working there, I met a repatriate like me, and he talked me into another office, which was involving shipping. And there was a lot of Army ships that were coming in with all the cargos, and he was one of the checker checking all the cargos coming in. He talked me into going there, so I quit the doughnuts factory and start working with him as a cargo checker, cargo checker where the Japanese were working, and we were checking and telling, translating the work. Then, then later on -- my brother was still working for the doughnut factory and later on started working for the Japanese transportation company, was a big trucking and bus service company --

TI: So this was you or your brother?

HN: My brother. My brother, yeah. He got into that. And I still stuck, stayed (as translator in) the U.S. Army. Then, eventually, some... I ended up meeting some people from (an Army intelligence unit) and they asked me to start working for them. So (I started working for them as a) translator.

TI: So I have to ask this question at this point. So working for the U.S. Army, earlier you were talking about there was some resentment towards the U.S. about what happened to you and your family, how was it working for the U.S. Army and then (intelligence unit)?

HN: I was kinda concerned at first, but surprisingly, these combat veterans I met... and they asked me, "How come you're in Japan?" I told 'em what happened, I said -- they more or less supported me, and they said, really, says, "If I was in your shoe I would have done the same thing." Honest, they did. So I got to know these guys much better, and I was favorably influenced by that to restore some confidence in the U.S. And that was the start of maybe working for (them), too, because... well, one of the guys knew a guy working at (an Army intelligence unit) and introduced me (to the unit). (...) Fortunately, all the people I met, the American I met, was very nice. I didn't hold back. I told 'em what I, my background so that they wouldn't have any suspicion or question. They... to everyone, to a single person, they agree with the position I took, because they weren't involved and it's easy for them to say that, but still, it was very encouraging.

TI: Now were they surprised at what happened?

HN: Yeah. They couldn't believe what happened. They couldn't believe the incarceration and so forth.

TI: And so these experiences in some ways restored your confidence or, or good feelings towards the United States.

HN: Yes, yes. That was the stepping stone for me to, getting back to the American way of living.

TI: And in this case, the fact that you had renounced your citizenship, U.S. citizenship, was no barrier or --

HN: Until, until... there's a... until this guy in (the Army intelligence unit), this commander called me in. "Look," he said, "Hank, we got this damn notice saying that people in your kind of situation, we have to fire you." Because he said there were some Japanese American organization that came to GHQ and influenced them, policymaker, in making this decision. Right away I said, "JACL," in my mind. But the commander said, "I'm not gonna do it. This is a bunch of baloney. They shouldn't be doing to these Americans. You went, all the thing you went through." So this commander says, "I'm gonna disregard this, okay?" And so I continued to work for that office.

TI: So when you heard about this you suspected the JACL had gone to GHQ?

HN: Well, I didn't suspect. It was... I suspected JACL went. I was told that some Japanese American organization was triggering this. I didn't know that; I was told.

TI: And so there was sort of this blanket order that went out saying, essentially renunciants should not have jobs, they needed to be fired.

HN: Yeah.

TI: And so you were, but then, fortunately in your case, the commander said, "I'm gonna disregard this. Don't worry about it."

HN: Yeah, because I was away from the headquarters.

TI: Now, what kind of work did you do with the intelligence unit?

HN: Basically translating, interpreting. That's about it. Nothing too sensitive, you know, because still I was not considered an American citizen.

TI: Uh-huh.

<End Segment 31> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.