<Begin Segment 26>

TI: Well, let's go to now the, back in the stockade. This was during what was called the "Champagne Campaign..."

FM: Yeah.

TI: ...where it was a lot easier. Did you and Kash, especially when you talked or think about it, did you sort of resent it? Because the other men would have it pretty easy, and they would go into town and sometimes be able to party and things like that, but you had to stay in the stockade.

FM: Uh hm.

TI: Did you talk about that, especially when the boys came back and told you what they were doing? How'd you feel about that?

FM: No. But actually, because when the group go down for rest area, although we in the stockade at night, the troops that were guarding us, they let us go out. Yeah. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] I didn't know that.

FM: Yeah, they tell us...

TI: So you would go into town then?

FM: Yeah. He'd say, "You guys want to go downtown?" I say, "Sure." So they'd bring a truck over, and Kash I and get on a truck with those guys. They take us to town, have a few drinks and come back...

BK: Who was guarding you?

FM: At that particular time, regimental headquarters. We were in the regimental headquarters area. And they'd come over during the night, just the guards standing there, but they all from the same outfit, same group. So they all know each other, say, "Hey, we're taking these guys to town." They'd say, "Go ahead."

BK: So you would get a sponsor, you would get a sponsor, and then, and go out?

FM: Sponsor? What do you mean?

BK: Whoever knew the guard would tell 'em, "We're gonna take this guy, these guys out."

FM: Yeah.

BK: And that's how you got out.

FM: Yeah, no, but, even the guards, they're part of the, this service group anyway.

BK: Right.

FM: So they all know each other. So they'd just thought, "Hey, Harry," or whatever his name is, "Harry, we're taking these guys out." "Go ahead." So he, the guard stand there with his rifle like that, and Kash and I, we'd go out.

TI: How about the other two, would they go out, too? Hayashi and...

FM: Hayashi will go with us. But...

TI: And Matsuda would...

FM: ...but Matsuda would stay by himself.

TI: Tell me about -- he sounds like, Matsuda was a real loner. He didn't have very many friends.

FM: He was a loner, yeah. He was loner.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.