<Begin Segment 17>

TI: At some point in, let's see, 1942, 1943, they came out with a "loyalty questionnaire." Do you remember when they came out and had people -- in particular there were two questions, questions twenty-seven and twenty-eight. Do you remember that, that questionnaire?

FS: I remember it, but like I say, I never signed it. I think our whole block didn't sign it, as far as, as far as I know.

TI: So let's talk about that, because most people, when they, when they got it they answered the questions and signed it one way or the other. You said you didn't sign it.

FS: We didn't sign it.

TI: So tell me why you didn't sign it.

FS: I thought it was a stupid question. That's what we thought then, because we, a whole bunch of us, our whole block went to another block that said they're havin' a meeting, so they want to see what, what they're talking, what they're answer gonna be, so our whole block went down, down there and tried to listen in on what they were saying. And as far as I know, when we came back we said, to me, none of the, none of the people on our block signed the paper.

TI: Well, when you went to that other block to hear kind of people talk about it, what were some of the things you heard? I mean, for you to decide this, were some people for signing, like "yes-yes" and some people "no-no"? Or do you have a, do you remember what people were saying?

FS: I can't remember that. Only thing is, only thing I could say is people that signed their paper "yes-yes," it was certain block, people that signed it. You know what, you know what happened to them was all the guys that's against that thing, they put 'em on the blacklist. Even the whole block was on kind of a blacklist.

TI: The, the ones that said "yes-yes"?

FS: Yeah. "Yes-yes."

TI: Okay, so internally they were put on some kind of blacklist if they, if they went "yes-yes." And what, what would that mean, when you say a blacklist? How would that, what would happen?

FS: They wouldn't, they wouldn't talk to them. And certain, if certain blocks were, if it wasn't a whole block, it was some, maybe a couple families in a block signed it, that whole family, they wouldn't let 'em eat in the mess hall. Somebody else would bring the food to them so they could eat that day or that night.

TI: So there were these ramifications if you, if you signed "yes-yes" or "no-no." I mean, there was, like, this split, this tension between the two groups.

FS: Yeah.

TI: But now, you, you didn't sign one way or the other, so how did they treat you? What, what was your treatment like?

FS: Well, because our... they, they treat you by the block, people in the block. Like I say, our, seemed like our whole block didn't sign, so we talked to each other and everything else, so they couldn't do nothing to us.

TI: Well, what was the reaction of the administration when people in your block didn't sign one way or the other? What did the administration do?

FS: I don't, that I don't know. I don't know, because they didn't do nothing to us that time, so I don't know what happened.

TI: Okay, so it was like nothing happened from the administration?

FS: Yeah.

TI: Versus some other blocks, when they didn't sign it, they were actually kind of taken away or pressured to do something, but you, sounds like your block, they, they didn't do that.

FS: No. No, nothing from our block.

TI: Okay, so "loyalty question" happens, your block, they don't sign one way or the other, but after people turned in the, the questionnaire, then what happened at Tule Lake? I mean, later on it became a segregation camp. And so can you describe some of the changes that happened at the camp when it, when it became a segregation camp?

FS: After that?

TI: Yeah, like what, how did it change?

FS: I can't, I can't remember that. I can't remember what happened.

TI: Okay, but in your block, did it pretty much stay the same? People stayed there?

FS: Yeah.

TI: Did any new people come into your block during this time?

FS: There was only one or two families that came in from another, out of another camp.

TI: Okay.

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