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TI: So Jack, let's start the second hour, and so we're gonna start with December 7, 1941, Sunday. Can you describe that day for me in terms of what happened to you on that day?

JK: Yeah, it started out as an ordinary day, but of course, by about, I think our time about ten o'clock in the morning, we find out that Pearl Harbor was bombed. And then, "oh well" kind of thing, and then next thing I remember was is that, through a telephone thing, my mom and dad got a phone call that all his colleagues were being picked up by the FBI and so he'd better be ready. And then, so my mom packed a suitcase for him, and it was, she was told by -- you know how this grapevine gets around the Valley like it does -- and to pack warm clothes. So she did that, and my mom and dad and all of us were kind of mulling around for the... and about five o'clock, it was like late afternoon, here some people came to the door. And I remember my mother said, "Oh my goodness, what's gonna happen now?" And remember I told you about this gentleman that owned the gas station that loaned my dad the car? Well, he had come to the house to see if my dad was still there, just to check on his old friend. They called my dad, his name's Ukichi, but typically as an immigrant like him, he got an American name, English name, he called him Harry, Harry Ukichi Kubota. So he wanted to make sure that Harry was okay, so he was relieved that my dad was still there. So that pretty much ended the day. That just pretty much ended the day. I just, all I remember is just a sigh of relief. And years later I read where J. Edgar Hoover said that there was no reason to incarcerate the Japanese on the West Coast. He said, "I've picked up everybody that's a suspect. I had 'em two hours after Pearl Harbor." And what I understand is, see, they were watching all the members of the Japanese community that were active in the Japanese Association.

TI: Yeah, so the FBI had created what were called the ABC lists.

JK: That's right, absolutely. And my dad the, my dad made the cut simply because, remember I told you his economic downturn, so he had to go out and he was driving a truck himself practically, so he had to, he was really tending to his own chores, so he had to drop all that affiliation with the Japanese Association.

TI: So that's interesting. So if he had remained prosperous, if his business had continued going well, he would've stayed active with the Japanese Association.

JK: Oh, yeah.

TI: And earlier, when you mentioned colleagues being picked up, these were, essentially, the other leaders of the Japanese --

JK: Of that group, at that point, up to a certain time. My dad, like he left, I don't know, when he was thirty-seven, thirty-eight, and I'm just guessing, but I'm sure it had to do with his own economic, his economic status.

TI: And so after that, that day, what happened? I mean, what did your father do after, at that point?

JK: You know, there was a transition period there. I really don't recall anything particularly happening. I really don't. I know that's, even at school, I don't recall, like my friends, school friends, my buddies and everything, feeling one way or the other. I do know that there was an element of fear, because in Imperial Valley there were either, I think either two or three homicides where the Japanese were actually gunned down, and they were, I believe... you know, I've been wanting to look at the newspaper articles. I think it was two, but it was the Filipinos that lived in the Valley, and I think, like one of 'em was when Corregidor had to surrender, and their reaction was to go out to a Japanese home and whenever, whoever showed up at the door, just blast 'em, something like that. In fact, I know that that's one of the reasons that you hear, from that era, right, that we, one of the reasons we were removing 'em all, well, a hundred and eighteen thousand, because they may all be shot dead by somebody for being an alleged traitor.

TI: So in other words, they were being removed "for their own protection" was what some people --

JK: Yeah, exactly. In fact, I heard that a week ago, out of the clear blue sky. I guess they know I'm Japanese and then they figured out, "Well, you were, so you were one of those..." generally they'll ask something about, "Well, did you ever have to go to one of those camps?" In fact, they call, "You know, that was really for your protection, wasn't it?" And I say, "Well, not really, but..." [Laughs]

TI: Right, right. And the story I hear is when people are confronted with that, they say, well, when they got there the guns were actually pointed at them, not out protecting them. They weren't pointed towards the outside.

JK: Different kind of a place to be.

TI: Did you ever have any conversations -- you mentioned that you had, like, a Mexican friend that you did things with -- when, at the point when it became clear that you were gonna be removed, you had to leave the area, did you have any conversations with your friends about that?

JK: You know, I don't. In fact, this lady that I mentioned, that was at school with me, we don't have any recollection, so how many, was there a lot of goodbyes? I don't recall that at all. I really don't have that much recollection of that at all. There was no balloons or sad farewell, and I think it has something to do with being young. It's like even today, service families, they move all over the world, right? And it's, "Okay, see ya," kind of a thing.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.