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TI: Well, so when the war started, you were sixteen years old, or sixteen, seventeen years old?

MN: When the war started? I was still in Portland.

TI: Yeah, Portland, but you were still in high school, right?

MN: Pardon?

TI: You were in high school?

MN: Oh, yes. I was in high school, and my father bought a portable Royal Magic Margin Typewriter for me, and he felt that I should learn office procedures, that is learn typing and shorthand and accounting, bookkeeping, that sort of thing. Because after I graduated, if I wanted a job, I would have to have something necessary so that I could get some kind of a position. But of course, I took college prep, hopefully, that my dad was a great one for education, and hopefully that I could go into college. But that, of course, never happened. And when I went to high school, I took all the college prep courses, I took foreign language and all the math, and things like required subjects. And I don't know why, but I doubled up on English lit and American lit, which was a lot of reading to do and everything. Besides, I was taking accounting, bookkeeping at the same time, so lots of homework to do.

But anyway, my dad... not my dad, but I finally, after we went to assembly center, I found out that I was going to get my graduation, I mean, I was going to get a diploma from the high school. I was rather surprised, but they informed me that I had all the credits or all the college prep course completed, and that they were going to give me a diploma. So that's what happened.

TI: So you graduated with like a year early then?

MN: Well, I'm thinking I must have been a midtermer. But I would have graduated in the following year, I mean, I wouldn't have graduated in '42, no way. So I was fortunate that they granted me a diploma, I was really surprised.

TI: And how did you get the diploma? Did they have any kind of ceremony for you or anything?

MN: Oh, what happened is at Portland Assembly Center, which was located in Livestock Exposition Center, and they had an arena. And they set up... there were several other people, graduates that received their diploma, and they had a little ceremony there. So a few of us... I don't know who gave us the diploma, but anyway, we were presented our diploma at a very small ceremony.

TI: And so was there very many people watching when you got your diploma?

MN: I think I was not... well, I probably didn't walk around. I probably went there, sat down, and received my, get called up and receive your diploma. And I didn't look around, I think I just... so I don't recall if there was any crowd or anything.

TI: And the people giving the diploma, were they from the school that came?

MN: That I don't recall either. See, I don't recall all the things. [Laughs]

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2014 Densho. All Rights Reserved.