Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Frank Hiratsuka Interview
Narrator: Frank Hiratsuka
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Skokie, Illinois
Date: June 15, 2011
Densho ID: denshovh-hfrank_2-01-0008

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TI: And tell me about Reedley. Were there very many other families that also moved to Reedley besides you and the Nishis?

FH: I would imagine, but that was quite a few Japanese there to begin with, 'cause that was farming area down there, Fresno, Reedley.

TI: Right. Well, eventually that area also became an exclusion zone.

FH: Yeah. Yeah, we took a train from there to Poston.

TI: Okay, so directly to Poston. No assembly center.

FH: Somewhere, well, near Poston, then a truck, the truck in.

TI: And do you remember, when your family and the others in Reedley got the orders that they had to leave, what that was like? I mean, were people surprised that, 'cause your family thought it was a safe zone.

FH: Yeah, I guess they were sort of surprised since it was supposed to be a safe zone. But even in Reedley it was nice because people were nice and friendly, because there were so many Japanese there that it wasn't strange for another Japanese family to come in.

TI: Now did your parents ever talk to you about what was happening during this time period? Because both were U.S. citizens, you were U.S. citizens, they were educated in the United States, did they ever talk about how they felt about what was going on?

FH: No. No, we never talked about it.

TI: Do you recall any of your, like classmates or teachers, talking with you about what was going on?

FH: Not really. I don't remember it ever coming up in class at all. I think one teacher might've said something about, we're at war, but that doesn't mean that he's, that Frank is, is an enemy. That's, which was very nice, but other than that no one said anything.

TI: And during that time period, were you ever teased or singled out because of being Japanese by your classmates or anyone else?

FH: No.

TI: Okay. So let's talk about Poston. So you take a train, your family and others take a train to Poston, so what are your first impressions of Poston when you got there?

FH: It was dusty, lot of sand, dry. It was sort of warm. And it looked sort of barren. It was all tarpaper shacks. But you're with a bunch of other Japanese, so you figure, well, everybody's in the same boat.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.