Densho Digital Archive - Bruce T. Kaji Interview II (denshovh-kbruce-02-0017)

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MN: Well, I was gonna ask you also, in 1994 Roosevelt High held a special Nisei graduation ceremony for those who couldn't receive a diploma because of the war, and you were one of the recipients and a speaker. When Roosevelt, they were one of the first to do this, how did that make you feel?

BK: Buddy Webber, who was our class president, he was very sympathetic about the Japanese American situation, so he was in charge of the reunion. And he felt that it was regrettable that the Japanese Americans had never been properly given their diplomas, so he made it a special effort to invite the JAs to the annual reunion for the class and I got an invitation and so did some of the others, and I think we're about maybe eight to ten of us, showed up at the hotel near the airport. And Buddy Webber was there and he was, he was in tears. He was so happy to see us. And they asked me to say a few words and I did, and I said, "You know," I says, "I don't know too much about how others might think about a reunion like this, but it's good to know that the people at Roosevelt hadn't forgotten about us. And it's not too much about money, it's not too much about where you come from. We all lived in and around Roosevelt High School and we all got along. It's only because of the government and their policy that we split, but it's nice to be back home again with all you folks." And we had a rousing welcome. We're still in touch. I'm still a member of the Jewish club, it's called the, trying to think of the name of the theater up on, not Brooklyn, but anyway, they, they have a name for the club and --

MN: The Wabash?

BK: The Wabash?

MN: Is that the one?

BK: Yeah, there's the Wabash Theater up there, but they have a group, I don't know if it's the Wabash group, but we meet twice a month at the restaurant on Sunset, and I'm the only one that shows up, Japanese American. And I know a lot of the guys, my Jewish friends, so I go there every time they have a meeting and I say, "Where's my old Jewish girlfriend, Charlotte?" I says, "I haven't seen her in a long time," but we're at that age where a lot of our friends already have passed away, but we get along. We still get along.