<Begin Segment 10>

LT: Well, after the trial, what do you remember about the results?

ED: Well, I'm sure there was some negative result on campus.

LT: Because he was convicted.

ED: The students were surprisingly supportive.

LT: Of?

ED: Gordy. And they did have sometimes a luncheon to support him. Something that would be going on on campus in support, but I don't remember what.

LT: How did you feel?

ED: About what?

LT: After you learned about Gordon's conviction?

ED: Conviction? I presume in the paper, I don't know how else unless...

LT: Oh, no, how did you feel?

ED: Well, I guess I would say I was proud of him. I don't think at that point I worried very much about him. He had probably a long row ahead of him, a long time in jail, depending on what judge he got or whatever. I know he got a number of different judges along the line, and so there was lots of guessing or wondering what was going to come out of a particular judge, what point of view was he going to take? That was always interesting to figure that out. And I think Gordy always seemed to have an optimistic point of view, even after, occasionally.

LT: Even after the trial? Even after the trial, he had an optimistic point of view?

ED: Well, yeah, his family and friends were all there to support him. And I think he had no, I don't think he had any way of knowing at that point what kind of a sentence he might get, so I don't think there was much conversation about that. Though on another part of the occasion, that would be an important discussion, what's this judge going to do? And Gordy's mother, of course, would be quite worried about him, she learned a good deal about her son and about how the court ran and what to expect in some cases. I think his father was much quieter, didn't say very much, but his mother did. And it was, the family was kind of surprised and pleased that she became as vocal as she did. Of course, she learned a lot about how to do that.

LT: How did she become vocal?

ED: She was more vocal with other people in the court, say. And they made an effort also to converse with her. But before that, she was a very, very quiet person. And I think there were a couple of other women there, not necessarily -- there were a couple Japanese Americans, but some other American-Americans, others, who spoke to her and encouraged her. They encouraged her in terms of thinking about the sentence and how long that might be, and they worried about whether Gordy would get sick or whatever, but they said, "We're here." And that was a surprise to her, especially early on. She was quite worried, quite worried about the future, what would happen to him. And three or four Japanese Americans -- you must know this story -- Japanese Americans came to her house, I think, and said how much they all were proud of what she and Gordy were doing, and that amazed her, and, of course, bolstered her considerably. She didn't realize anybody cared one way or the other, except the Americans.

LT: I understand she was approached --

ED: What?

LT: I understand she was approached, in fact, by those women, when she was at the Tule Lake camp.

ED: Uh-huh, I think so. She learned how to work with the group, and what to expect from them, what to give them for that matter.

LT: Well, in fact, her son, after the war, spent about three months at the Tucson federal prison, because he wanted to work outside.

ED: Yeah.

LT: And then he also spent about nine months --

ED: What was that?

LT: About nine months at the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary.

ED: Right.

LT: And did you continue to keep in touch with Gordon?

ED: She did.

LT: Oh, no, did you?

ED: Oh. I don't remember doing it, but surely I must have done some communication with him at that point.

LT: Do you have any recollections about what he was doing or how he felt during that period of time?

ED: Well, the letters will tell you that. I presume if he was at McNeil he may have been outdoors working from time to time. I'm sure they put some of their men to work outside. Not all of them, though. What the program was as a whole, I don't know. Maybe find out.

LT: And actually, one other point about your mother. As I recall, Gordon's mother and father were at Tule Lake and they were brought up to Seattle for his trial.

ED: Uh-huh.

LT: What do you recall about that and the kind of support that she gained from others when they came up?

ED: Well, she could certainly provide a meal from time to time, which is what she often did. And they could give somebody an overnight stay. But they had nothing to do with housing his parents or taking care of his parents when they were there. I don't remember quite how that happened, but they were not closely involved in that. They kept a little distance on that, I don't know why. But it seems to me that's what they did. They could provide an overnight, but I don't think they ever... maybe it would be easier to do that with the young people than with the parents. When they were first in the King County Jail, some women came to help them learn how to behave in court, what to wear, how to do their makeup. And they were, Mrs. Hirabayashi was quite touched. How to behave there. Well, I think Gordy was, too, touched that his mother would be helped.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2014 Densho. All Rights Reserved.