<Begin Segment 26>

MN: I'm going to change the subject on you and I want to ask a little bit about your late husband Koichi, Koy Asano. He was incarcerated during the war at Santa Anita and then at Granada, also known as Amache. Then he was drafted into the 442nd. Now, how much did your husband share with you about his army experience?

SA: Quite a lot. He used to dream a lot, had nightmares. But he became a real Christian after that, because he kept a little New Testament in his pocket, and I think that's what made him turn around. Of course, he was going to Holiness Church before the war, so he did have a good Christian background. But I think after he came out, he realized that he had to give something in return for his life. Because he was not wounded, he was not scratched; it was a miracle. All his friends passed. He did tell me lots of stories that... it changed him completely. He became a different person after that experience.

MN: You know, you mentioned that he had nightmares. Did he have nightmares until the day he died?

SA: No, it gradually went away. He gave his whole... well, more or less to the church after that. He was at the church before, but himself, he really felt he had to return. And he did help the church, Centenary Methodist Church, he helped the youths, the boys. I think he did a lot for them at that time.

MN: Now, as a widow of a 442nd veteran, were you able to participate last year in the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony?

SA: Yes, I was very fortunate to go to the White House, to the Capitol, to partake in that as a widow. We were right there, so it was memorable.

MN: When you think about that, when they announced that they were going to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the 442nd, what are your thoughts on that?

SA: I think it was long overdue, and I'm glad that... there were quite a few still veterans remaining who were able to witness it. But it was a joy for the widowed women to experience that.

MN: Now, even people who were in camp have lingering effects, and I wanted to ask you about, you have this need to have paper goods? Can you share with us...

SA: I don't know where I... that's the strangest thing. I do hoard, and it's paper goods, all different kinds. And I can't figure out why. I think it's because in camp, we did not have paper goods. I can't ever recall, and if we had toilet paper that was... we were lucky. I think that's where it's coming from, I'm just trying to analyze it myself.

MN: Now when people started to talk about redress, did you think that redress was possible?

SA: I did; I was all for it, and I was hoping that it would come through.

MN: What did you think when the redress bill was passed?

SA: I was elated.

MN: Was your mother and your husband alive still?

SA: My husband was, but not my mother. It was really for them. The Isseis are the ones who suffered the most, and that's the most unfortunate part. We're just the recipients in their name is the way I look at it.

MN: I've asked my questions. I don't know if there's anything else you want to share with us?

SA: Not really. I think it's great that you're doing this so that we can share some of our thoughts and our lives. It's just interesting because just the other night, I watched the Channel 4, NBC's news broadcast with Brian Williams, and he brought out about sixty people who wrote a book on their lives during the war. Quite a few were veterans. One was, I guess a Sansei girl, her name was Noda, last name, and talked about her parents. So even today, in this day and age, we're at that point in our lives where we have to share, and I think it's remarkable that the Yonseis, especially because I think our ethnic group is very unique in having gone through what we have, and we need to share it to let others know. So I really commend the young people, because they have the courage to do it.

MN: Since we have a little bit of time, can I ask a little bit about your father and his love of art? Can you share with us some of the antique pieces he had before the war?

SA: That's very interesting about him. He loved Japanese art, and someone he inherited a Korean vase because his brother in those days lived in Korea. And he had this and carried it with him everywhere he went. I didn't know what was in this little case. Even in camp, I don't know, this was his cherished thing. So after he passed, I found out what it was, and then I had it appraised and realized that it was valuable, that it was a Korean vase from, well, 1500s or 1400s. And so I donated it to the L.A. County Museum of Art, and made a point to ask them when they had it on display, that I would like to see it. So they made a point to write me a letter and said they were going to have an opening. I was able to go view it, and it was very nice to see that display in the Far East section, art pieces.

MN: That's amazing it didn't crack in all the travels...

SA: There's a little crack on the lid, the lip of the thing. And it has a funny lip, so we think that there's a cover that's missing. But that's about the only thing. But it's very nice.

MN: But it survived L.A. to Arkansas, to Louisiana...

SA: All over. He carried it, he treasured it, so I knew it was valuable. I didn't know what it was, but then because it was in our family, and my feeling was the only way to share it was not for any one of us to keep it, but for others to enjoy it, and that was what we did.

MN: Thank you very much.

SA: Thank you.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.