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TI: Okay. So I'm now going to go to December 7, 1941, the date that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Can you walk through that day for me and what happened?

FD: Well, we had Sunday school and church services as usual in the morning, and then in the afternoon my parents went to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of a former Riverside girl. And I decided that I didn't want to go, so I stayed at home and the twins came over to keep me company. So we just, I don't know what we did, just talked or played games or something. And then in the afternoon, a boy drove up to the house and rushed in, because we used to keep our doors unlocked in those days, and so he just dashed into the house and said, "Lock all your doors and windows because some people are going around town threatening to kill all the Japanese that they can find." Well, what? What's going on? How come? And he said, "Oh, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor," and everybody's mad, we're going to war, blah, blah. And so that was Pearl Harbor Day. So the twins stayed with me all day, I guess. But then I was wondering, what did we do for dinner? I don't remember. I don't know whether we went over to the twins' house for dinner or what, but anyway, the twins were still at my house, our house, when my parents came home in the evening, late in the evening.

TI: And I'm curious, during that time period, during the day, when you were there with the twins, what were you thinking? I mean, did you lock all doors and windows?

FD: Oh, yeah, of course we locked all the doors. We were just sort of scared wondering will somebody try to break in, or what? But nothing happened.

TI: Probably maybe worried about your parents?

FD: Oh yeah, I worried about my parents.

TI: So when they came back, about what time did they come back?

FD: Well, it seemed to me that it was sort of late in the evening. I'm not sure what time it was, but I would guess it was probably around ten or so maybe.

TI: And do you remember what your parents said or anything when they came?

FD: No, I don't remember.

TI: Because they were there with your younger brother, younger sister also.

FD: Yeah, they had taken them to Los Angeles. And I think the twins were still with me, my father took them home saying something like... well, he usually took them home when they stayed over in the evenings, but he said, "This time especially it's important that I see you home safely."

TI: So the days after, so the next day when you go to school, what was that like for you?

FD: Oh, yes, I was worried. I didn't know what it was going to be like. Well, the principal called an assembly. We usually had assemblies, I think, on Fridays or something like that, but then he called an assembly on Monday and said something to the effect that the Japanese American students, in fact, all the Japanese Americans in the United States had nothing whatsoever to do with what happened at Pearl Harbor, and you should just treat them the same as usual, that is, don't do anything to harm them. Anyway, he said something to the effect that it was not our fault that Japan did this dastardly deed.

TI: Earlier you mentioned that you were on kind of speaking terms with the principal.

FD: Yeah.

TI: Did you ever have a personal conversation or did he ever say anything to you individually about anything after?

FD: I think so, but I don't really remember. Well, I used to see him occasionally because I was on the student council and the council members were the ones who were supposed to make the, I guess, announcements for the administration. Instead of having a teacher or the principal make the announcements to the school over the public address system, they had the council members take turns doing that. And so, of course, since I was in the officer periodically, I sort of got acquainted with the principal. He knew who I was.

TI: And do you recall the principal's name?

FD: I think it was something like Lauderbach.

TI: Yeah, it seems pretty extraordinary that he would make that announcement the day after, everyone's afraid, and that he would come out with such a strong statement, showed a lot of leadership on his part.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2016 Densho. All Rights Reserved.