Densho Digital Archive - Minoru Tajii Interview (denshovh-tminoru

<Begin Segment 24>

MN: So let's talk about the questionnaire, this "loyalty questionnaire." When that came out in '43, were there a lot of meetings in your quad about this?

MT: No, we just talk about it ourselves. They never had a group talk. But like me, I was angry because my father was over there and my mother was over here, and already it's been a couple of years. So when they called me in, I said, "You're telling me you want me to become a soldier?" I said, "What for? My father is way over there, how many thousand miles away, and my mother's here." I said, "If you bring my father here to where my (mother) is, then I might talk to you differently." He said, "You know, I could throw you in the federal prison?" I said, "What's the difference between concentration camp and a federal prison?" I said, "They're both going to get locked up." He said, "Oh, no, no."

[Interruption]

MN: So we're talking about the "loyalty questionnaire." What did you answer for the two controversial questions, 27 and 28?

MT: "No-no," and he told me he could put me in a federal prison. But he says, "You know, I could put you in the federal prison," I said, "What's the difference between federal prison and concentration camp?" I said, "I'm still locked up." He said, "What are you, a wise guy?" I said, "No, I'm mad. My father's over there and my mother hasn't seen my father in how many years and you think that I'm going to say yes?" I said, "You bring him here where my mother is, then you talk to me to change my story. Until then, no." They called me in a couple times, but no, I'm not going to change my mind, so they sent us to Crystal City.

MN: What about your older brother?

MT: He was same thing, but he didn't talk to them like I did. He just said "no-no" and he wouldn't talk to them anymore. But me, I was mad. I was talking back to them. Short-tempered, that's what you call me.

MN: What about other people in your quad? Did they answer "no-no"?

MT: Yeah, there's others that did "no-no." I don't ask everybody, because this is me. I'm mad. So I didn't ask them how they answered. But there was a couple of them that got sent to Tule Lake, but otherwise, not too many. They were scared to answer "no-no." Not me, I don't care what they do.

MN: So you answered "no-no" and your brother and your mother. From there, what happened to your family?

MT: Well, then we were sent to Crystal City, Texas. Then everything got real good 'cause my father was there, so we were, all four of us were together.

MN: How did you get to Crystal City, Texas?

MT: Train. From Parker, then they just sent us straight over.

MN: Do you know why they didn't reunite your family in Tule Lake?

MT: I don't know.

MN: I know Crystal City, the Department of Justice camp was a family camp, so I'm assuming that's why you were shipped to Crystal City.

MT: Well, we were asking for a place for the family to be together, and they said they had an opening over there. So they let us go there. It was the opening that opened up.