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MN: Now what was school like? Do you remember the name of your school that you attended?

MU: Tooele High School I think was the name of it and that's where my brother graduated. He's two years ahead of me, I'm a sophomore so he graduated that year that we went there.

MN: Do you remember what the ethnic makeup was like?

MU: Mostly Caucasian, it was bigger than the Fruitland High School in Idaho. There were several stories in that one building I think it was all one building. I don't even remember a gymnasium, we must have had some sport activity but I don't remember. And we went by... I guess we went by bus. Let's see... my brother above me was not driving at that time so a bus must have come after us and I don't remember the bus but somehow we got to school there. And I especially remember one room because I almost choked to death. And the reason I almost choked to death is after my lunch I would put some sweets... I love sweets more so at that time... and there were these Japanese, sort of like arare, sort of round, it sort of has rough edges around it, and arare has the sweet and oshoyu tasting. I put a bunch in my mouth because I finished my lunch and I went into class and one went a little further than it should. And I'm gagging and my girlfriend, Nisei, she looked at me, "Don't do that, don't do that," she said, she thought I was playing around. And I remember just instinctively running into the bathroom and I remember I almost passed out. And then I felt this thing with the wave that takes your food down, I just felt it and it just hurt so badly, but I felt that little round thing going down my esophagus. But I almost passed out. I mean, that would have been it. [Laughs]

MN: Did the teacher wonder why you ran out into the bathroom?

MU: No, it was right before we came into the room when we're trying to settle down. And I put a bunch in my mouth so I would have something to sort of chew on and enjoy in class. And I don't think I even sat down when my girlfriend said, "Don't do that, don't do that," she had a horrible look on her face and I remember that. And I just instinctively just because I guess when you choke you're thinking you might... I didn't even think of it but I just ran into the bathroom there and I still remember that incident and that's one of the times that I had a fear for my life. But that's what I remember of that school besides saying my name is Miyo and not "Maiyo."

MN: And other than having problems with your name, did the other students and teachers, how did they treat you?

MU: I don't remember any uncomfortable incidents. I don't remember them all coming up to me and saying, "Welcome." Somehow, unless you're an unusual student being extra friendly, you just say hi and you look and that's all, and I think that's all we expect because that's all probably I did with people in school. So I don't remember anything. I do remember algebra. Having started school late, I don't know how many weeks it was but I was lost through the whole algebra. And I like math, but to me has the unknown x plus y equals, and I like numbers and I was very uncomfortable in that algebra class. So that's the other thing that I remember about Tooele High School, not liking algebra, I don't know how I got out of that class.

MN: Now you said there were other Niseis who were doing similar things of getting deferment. How many other families do you remember?

MU: I don't remember how many families, but I remember my brother and his wife became friends with the other couples, and one of my girlfriend was there, that's right. And her older sister was there and a couple of brothers and they had not gone into camp. They lived in Montana. When I talked about camp she was wondering what am I talking about. And when I talk about camp with the other Niseis, she seemed sort of lost because she was not able to share her camp life. Somehow I sort of sensed that, but as to how many families, I don't know.

MN: Now was your brother able to get a deferment throughout the entire war?

MU: Yes, but there was a period of time when we felt the deferment did not come through. And he went to visit Topaz where his wife's family was, to say goodbye and I didn't go. My brother went and his wife went to Topaz and it was during the time that he was gone that this envelope came and for some reason I thought it was a happy news that he did get a deferment because I remember running out to the car with happiness giving him the envelope. I mean, it could have said "denied" but for some reason I still remember that happiness because we needed him, my mother needed him for the family to go back to the ranch after the war.

MN: So while you were living there, did you visit, you said your brother had gone to Topaz to say a final goodbye to his wife's family side. Did you go to like Salt Lake City Japantown or those local areas?

MU: We did go into Salt Lake City I remember because we went to see the temple organ there, the famous --

MN: The Mormon temple?

MU: Mormon temple and the organ. I do not remember going into Japantown but I'm sure we did, because my sister-in-law was with us and I'm sure she would've wanted to buy some Japanese food, snacks or whatever because we were cooking in our unit. But I don't remember. I don't remember that at all.

MN: Now when your brother got this final deferment that by then the war would be over, what did your family do after that? When did you return to Newcastle?

MU: Oh, as soon as we could. As to when, it must have been after the war had ended and we were allowed to come back because then my junior, the junior class was back home at the Placer Union High School in the county of Placer but in the town of Auburn. But it was named Placer Union High School and that's where I spent my junior year which would be the eleventh. And there again, we started after the first day of school and gradually more Niseis were entering the high school there.

MN: Now I wanted to ask you, do you remember how you traveled from the Tooele Ordnance Depot to Newcastle? Whether or not you had any problems of places not allowing you to buy gas or not allowing you to stay overnight? Did you have any?

MU: I don't recall at all. We did have a truck and a sedan and so that's how our family of my brother and his wife -- and I guess we didn't mention it before my sister-in-law had my niece, Carol, who's running the ranch now in Idaho, over in Idaho. Actually in Payette, yeah, she had the child in Payette because when we were in Fruitland I think she was starting to walk. I have pictures of her in a stroller, in a vintage stroller, in a buggy, I know there are some photographs. So coming back to who and how many of us, my brother and his wife and their child, Carol, my mother and my brother, Tatsuya and myself came home in a truck with our worldly goods and in the sedan that was our vehicles that we came back home with to Newcastle.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.