<Begin Segment 6>

TI: So after Puyallup, then where did you go?

WS: After Puyallup, went to Minidoka.

TI: And what did you think of Minidoka? What were your first impressions?

WS: Well, in Minidoka, they were paying sixteen dollars and nineteen dollars for the supervisor. I worked in the hospital, in the warehouse.

TI: So in the hospital, what did you do? What was your job in the hospital?

WS: In the hospital, I was working in the... let's see. We made sure that the... how would you say that? It's an eight-hour shift, and had to, three different people was working three shifts. And I was in the boiler room, and I was making sure that the, well, the hot water was working as well as the, what do you call... anyway, some kind of a machinery, they wanted me to check the voltage so that it'll be working okay.

TI: When you were at Minidoka, did you continue the correspondence courses?

WS: The what?

TI: The University of Washington courses, did you continue?

WS: No, I didn't get that.

TI: At Puyallup you said you were taking courses by mail?

WS: Yes.

TI: Did you continue that at Minidoka?

WS: Yeah. After I went over to Minidoka, I did take a few courses. But then with nineteen dollars a month, I can't keep that up as far as the correspondence course is concerned. It was too much of a load for taking a course. So I wasn't able to continue.

TI: At the warehouse, what was your job at the warehouse?

WS: The warehouse? Well, after I worked at the hospital, I transferred to the administration office, and I was working pushing the paper, pushing the pencil, and I worked as the procurement officer. And that's where I was getting nineteen dollars. Well, anyway, the professionals were getting nineteen dollars, and common labor was getting sixteen dollars.

TI: Now as procurement officer, what kind of things would you buy? What would you guy for the camp?

WS: Well, buy anything from, well, the meal, different kind of purchasing. So I just, from the different departments, they were asked to order whatever, so we ordered it.

TI: And who would you order it from? Was it from the government or was it from companies? How did you find...

WS: That depends on whatever. But we were able to pick up practically everything, even the food and fish. Anyway, any kind of meal.

TI: Now, would you do this over the phone? Would you call people to order food?

WS: Yes, we talk about that, too.

TI: Now, did they know that you were Japanese American when you talked to them on the phone?

WS: Well, I guess so.

TI: Were they every curious, like, "Who are you?" and "What are you buying?"

WS: No, they never asked anything like that.

TI: I read that when you were at Minidoka, you were able to get a camera?

WS: Yeah. See, the block was 1 to 17 was in one row. And then from there on, all the way up towards the south, there was up to Block 30... almost 40, I guess. And then from there, they used to have the fence, barbed wire fence. But then in Minidoka, they were pretty lenient, and they removed the barbed wire. I was able to walk with some of the friends all the way over to Eden, E-D-E-N, Eden.

TI: So it's a small town.

WS: Yeah, it's a small town. And that was about six miles walk. Round trip would be twelve miles, and we walked all the way over to Eden and then we found a store there, and we went in there and we got the one dollar camera. One dollar camera like that, and film and all that, so even with nineteen dollars, I was able to purchase the camera as well as film, and I took some pictures.

TI: So what kind of pictures did you take?

WS: Barracks.

TI: And were these more of your barrack and family members and friends?

WS: Yeah.

TI: So now go back and tell me about your wife, Kiyoka. What happened with you and her at Minidoka?

WS: What happened to her?

TI: Well, to both of you, because you both got married at Minidoka.

WS: Yeah. So then it came to the point where they were recruiting the people to work as an interpreter, interpreter for the army. And they wanted me to join the army so that I'd be able to translate for them. Because after all, I did graduate from high school, and then also attended a university. So they wanted a person who'd be able to converse and interpret without any trouble. So I was proficient at that. And so I was able to, well, they wanted me to join, and I told them I did not want to join. And they kept on pestering me about joining the army and interpreter. So I said, "If it was not in the camp, I would be drafted, I would go. But then after being in the concentration camp, I don't think I'd want to join," so that was it.

TI: And who was the one pestering you? Who would try to recruit you to join? Was it a Caucasian or Japanese?

WS: It was a Japanese sergeant came over.

TI: And was he from, I guess, the Presidio or Snelling, Fort Snelling?

WS: I can't tell where it was.

TI: And so you said earlier, if it weren't for the, what you called concentration camps, if it wasn't for that, you would have joined? That it was because you were in the camp...

WS: If it was not in the camp, I would join if they drafted me. But then since I'm in the concentration camp, why should I join? So I told him I don't want to join at this time.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.