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TI: So let's move on to the war. So December 7, 1941, do you remember that day?

SA: Yes, I remember that period very well.

TI: Okay, so tell me if you can, that day, December 7th.

SA: Well, what happened here was, my dad being involved in kendo, very active in kendo. Everybody in martial arts was singled out as a threat to the United States. So that select group, and it was not just martial arts, anybody that belonged to any kind of a Japanese association, could have been even church. They were all the leaders who were picked and said, "We got to pull all those people into a special camp." So he was picked individually, and his friends were, too, they were part of the kendo group.

TI: So they were on the list to be picked up.

SA: They were all on the list. And so my dad decided to evacuate to Reedley, which was across the demarcation line, Highway 99 was the demarcation.

TI: So you went from Military Exclusion Zone 1 to I think they called it Zone 2.

SA: Right. So we were getting ready, we were about half packed, and my dad's friend's son came over and said, "My dad just got pulled in, you're next. Better move, move out fast." So we had a half-packed truck and a pickup truck. I think that's what we had was a pickup truck and a one-and-a-half-ton truck. So the on-and-a-half-ton truck was half packed. So in those days, so we decided... oh, no, wait a minute, we also had a car. We did have a car, we had just bought a new Dodge car. So my dad decided to drive to Saratoga where Kirkwood lived, and I remember taking roads that I had never driven on before because he wanted to avoid all the main highways. And went to Kirkwood's place, told him what was happening, he says, "Go. You tell us what you want packed, and we'll pack it for you, and we're gonna bring the truck to you." So this was Thursday, and then on Saturday, brought the rest of the material for us with our truck.

TI: And this is with the FBI kind of on...

SA: This is with the FBI on his trail.

TI: And so this must have been... what's the right word? Exciting or terrifying for you.

SA: Oh, it was terrifying. It was terrifying because we were all terrified. And so in Reedley, we moved six times in six months, once a month.

TI: And so where would you move?

SA: To various places. In fact, what we did was we... my dad bought a tent and we pitched a tent in a barn everywhere we went. Because this way we were unnoticed.

TI: So these were like friends or people you knew...

SA: Yeah, these were friends, a lot of them were Japanese farmers, okay, because there were a lot of farmers in Reedley. So we went from farm to farm, and we were always getting tip, my dad was always getting tip, says, "You better move. They're on the move, coming after you." So for six months we avoided getting picked up.

TI: Now, was there ever a concern that someone in the community might turn him in?

SA: No, no. And so I remember having to change grammar schools, I don't know how many times I changed grammar school during that short period of time.

TI: That's interesting. It would seem that if the FBI really wanted to get your dad, they would just find you.

SA: Well, except they were after so many people. So I think they just, they were saturated. You can only go after people with so much intensity. And so somehow, I mean, they never got to him. And finally, that whole population was told to go to Poston, so he decided to just sign up and go to Poston. So that's how we ended up in Poston, Arizona.

TI: And did he ever get questioned by the FBI when he was like in Poston or anything? Did they finally say, "Okay, we finally found this guy"? Because many of the men that were picked up earlier ended up in places like Santa Fe, you know, the Department of Justice camps.

SA: Yes.

TI: And so was there ever a concern that they might take him out of Poston?

SA: Well, they never did. They never did come and question him. So for whatever reason, he slid by.

TI: So, now, tell me, so you packed up the truck and you had all these belongings, so what happened to the big truck and the rest of that?

SA: Kirkwood came after it. He came after it and brought it home.

TI: And the twenty-acre farm?

SA: He took care of it. He leased the farm and took care of it.

TI: So you were very lucky, fortunate...

SA: We were very fortunate.

TI: ...to have someone to...

SA: Someone like him. And he was a well-respected person, he was a Stanford grad. He said, "U.S. is doing the wrong thing, and I'm gonna make sure that you guys are protected."

TI: Now, did he ever... did your father stay in contact with him during the war, like letters?

SA: Oh, yeah. Yes. In fact, I went to his wife's -- he is passed away. I went to his wife's ninety-second birthday about three years ago.

TI: So all these years, the families have...

SA: Yeah. And she still remembers my dad, and so it's still a nice relationship.

TI: That's unusual to have such a... and it started way back, though.

SA: Yeah, I mean, this is way back in the '30s, early '30s.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.