<Begin Segment 10>

TI: So let's go back to the mainland. What were your first impressions of the mainland when you got there?

FM: Well, we were kept more or less under secrecy. Even when we get on the train now, they had all the shades pulled down. They told us, "Don't open the shade. Just stay in the train." Then every so often they make a, they stop, and then we peeked a little bit to see where we are. But railroad tracks, they out in the boonies, yeah. They don't go through towns, so we didn't get to see too much.

TI: What reasons did they give you for keeping the shades down?

FM: They didn't say anything to us. Just said, "Keep the shade down. Don't get off the train when it stops."

BK: And you didn't ask them why?

FM: No, we were just recruits. You know, they...

BK: Just follow orders.

FM: ...they tell us to jump, we jump. [Laughs]

TI: But every once in a while, the train would stop, so you can get out and stretch your legs and do things like that?

FM: No, for refueling or taking water or coal or whatever. We stay on the train and peek out there, I see what's going on, but...

TI: Well, I've traveled across country on cars, and the country's quite large. And coming from an island, coming to the mainland, going on a train, it must have seemed like a long ways for you.

FM: Oh, yeah. It was a long ways, yeah. I think it was about five days, I think. I don't remember exactly what.

TI: And what was the first place that you, the first place you came to, where you can get out and see people?

FM: Oh, I remember a place called North Platte, Dakota. Where we were... there's snow on the ground at that time, too. The train stopped, so we got off, look around a little bit. Then say, "Everybody, go." Oh, just for a few minutes we got off, and got right back on again and went out there.

TI: Was that your first experience with snow?

FM: Oh, yeah.

TI: What did you think about that?

FM: I, oh, it's beautiful, cold. But, "Hey, snow!" [Pretends to throw a snowball] Start playing with each other, yeah.

TI: Well, eventually, what was your destination for the train? Where did you stop?

FM: Oh, went to Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

TI: And what was that like?

FM: Well, we first got off, oh... just barracks. And they called your name, and you assigned to certain company. We were all assigned to I Company. And there were about fifteen in a barracks. Each squad had fifteen people, but first squad, second squad, they all had their different barracks.

TI: When the Hawaiians first got there, already at Camp Shelby were some mainland Japanese Americans. And they were the, sort of the, at that point, I believe the NCOs, they were more the ones in charge. How did you and the other Hawaiians get along with the mainland Japanese?

FM: Well, myself, I got along okay with just about everybody, yeah. There were some people, no matter where they go, they're troublemakers anyway. So, they're always starting fights and stuff like that. But we had a good group, our squad.

TI: Because when I read, now I mean, and maybe it's overblown, but you read these books now, and they say that there was lots of friction between the mainlanders and the Hawaiians. So you don't think it was that bad?

FM: No, it was, I think it was blown out of proportion, I think. Yeah. How could... we had about four mainland people, yeah: Kash, and Hayashi, and Mickey Akiyama -- he's here tonight, he was in our hut -- and a couple others, but we got along real good. We didn't have any fight among ourselves, no.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.