<Begin Segment 21>

SY: So looking, just in closing, looking back on your life, is there, like, one or two things that you're most proud of? Are there things that are the most memorable, or moments in your life that you, that stand out in your career? 'Cause it's been a very illustrious career.

GN: Well, one would be being able to recognize the 100/442, MIS veterans at the state capitol. That would sort of stand out.

SY: That's great. That's really great. And, because their service was above and beyond is what, is how you would characterize that, just completely, I mean, without them the Japanese Americans probably would not be seen in the same light. Is that --

GN: Right, right.

SY: That's nice.

GN: And also when there's a situation where I feel that there's an unfinished business and that something needs to be done, and the contrast with the 100/442, MIS would be Wayne Collins, because I don't think he has ever been thanked by the Japanese American community as a whole. I think they had some thank you dinners by the people who benefitted from him, but not by the JA community as a whole.

SY: So you're still fighting, I mean, that's an ongoing...

GN: Well, so my, what I wanted to do was in a way do that and then also use it as an educational thing, and so I wanted to thank him through his son at the state capitol. So when you do it at the state capitol other people are gonna see and hear what's being done, but it's okay, he wanted it at the Tule Lake pilgrimage, so we were able to do that at the Tule Lake pilgrimage.

SY: So that, you...

GN: To present him with the assembly resolution.

SY: So that was offered to Wayne Collins's son and he chose to receive his commendation --

GN: Yeah. Robert Takei was the one that was communicating with him as to the details, where, and he preferred that it was done at the Tule Lake pilgrimage, which is fine with me.

SY: Yeah, and you were there. Just describe that experience for you.

GN: Yeah, and that year we had some budget problems, so normally I would be able to join people on Thursday for the pilgrimage, but we had a late Thursday night budget session and it finally passed so now I was able to fly out Friday morning. And so I caught one of those propeller planes from Sacramento Airport and landed in Klamath Airport, and luckily one of the guys that drove a pickup truck to the pilgrimage picked me up and brought me to the, to the place where people were meeting. And so that evening I was able to present the resolution to Wayne Collins Jr.

SY: It's interesting 'cause it's really definitely two opposite sides, your support of the 100/442 and of Wayne Collins.

GN: And you wrote the article in the Rafu Shimpo. [Laughs]

SY: [Laughs] Well there's, yeah, it's really nice to have the kind of impact that you have that's, it's so important. I'm just really amazed at your career. So I don't know, are there any, is there anything in closing that you'd like to say? Like maybe what your hopes are for the future, for your future, for educating people, for... you've covered a lot. You talked a lot about the 100th and the whole purpose and the future for them, so that's kind of the direction you're going in.

GN: Well, I'm just hoping that as a nation we don't have to deal with a lot of the things that we had to deal with and find solutions for as time goes on. In some areas it's still around, other areas there's improvement. And one of the interesting things that's taking place right now is that the Japanese American population is diminishing in the United States, by reason of a number factors. One is that, due to interracial marriage. And there's nothing wrong with that; it's just that when you have people with similar values and being part of the same culture that's, that exists at that time, those things are going to take place. And then the other is that you don't have an immigrant population that's replacing those who are dying off, and that's why it's getting less and less.

SY: But, so having gone through what you did as a child, even though it was, you were still a child, having gone through the whole incarceration, concentration camp experience to now, you've, is that something that you are glad that you can use that to fight for a bigger, bigger issues? I mean, has that helped you in your life?

GN: It has. Absolutely.

SY: Giving you a place to start from.

GN: Right.

SY: Very, very amazing, the accomplishments that came out of the Japanese Americans having gone through that. So very good.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.