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MN: Now, when you returned to Merit Savings and Loan, and you were still involved with the Little Tokyo Redevelopment, I guess now the committee, the, the mayor's committee was called the Little Tokyo Community Development Advisory Committee that you were on, and then you started to pursue your museum dream a little more. Can you share with us this, how you started?

BK: Well, I think all along the GIs had started the idea of the museum, the 100th/442nd and MIS, and they put a photographic exhibit up at one of the county museums, which they had a big opening and had the county officials come and it was very popular during the opening, but after the opening no one would go over there to look at the exhibit. There's no follow up. It was there, but no publicity, very few people would go see it, so as a result of it after the term of months that were allowed for the exhibit to be on the county property they had to remove it. And so they took it off, out and put it over at the veterans' hall, but there was no one that would come, the public, so it's kind of languished. I really don't know what happened to all the pictures they had. It could be that we received 'em at the museum because no one else could use 'em. With the veterans the big problem was not only trying to satisfy their particular wishes and the 100th/442nd group led by Colonel Kim always wanted their own establishment. They wanted, he didn't want to be associated, from my understanding, with any other establishment. He just wanted the 100th/442nd. We got together with the MIS and the 100th/442nd and formed a corporation of both of 'em, but as far as Colonel Kim was concerned, that was his whole life, is the 100th/442nd. I don't blame him either. He did a great job. But the problem was finding a location and finding the money to do it, and so instead of staying with the Japanese American National Museum, which Merit Savings was the one that was pushing that all, all the way, he decided to go out on his own, and in doing so, although he got started with the Nishi Hongwanji project together, he didn't join in. And to this day they're still looking for him. That's unfortunate, but...

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.