<Begin Segment 19>

So I went to high school, one of the top academic high schools in Milwaukee at the time, and it was predominately Jewish so I learned to speak some Yiddish in the process, but there was one other Japanese American girl. And my brothers went to elementary school and then into, eventually in high school, they went to a different high school and both excelled. My brother Jerry was a very good athlete. He was on the football team, the track team, had a beautiful girlfriend. And my brother Chet was also very athletic and he was valedictorian. And so we thrived in this Germanic community.

VY: I wonder --

DS: Go ahead.

VY: Well, I'm just wondering what your own sense of identity was around that time. Like, for instance, when you saw there was one other Japanese American girl in school, did you sort of identify with her or did you not necessarily think that you had that much in common?

DS: Well, I've never told anybody about this, but I'll reveal something that might answer your question. Of course, my mother wanted us to marry a Japanese American girl, but we all had Caucasian girlfriends. So to force the issue, my mother identified a very pretty young Japanese American girl who lived in Milwaukee. And invited her to come for dinner to meet the boys, and it was a disaster. I can't describe it, but only by saying it didn't work out. Maybe because our mothers wanted us to become friendly with this Japanese American girl, maybe because she wasn't a blond, Germanic girl, but it turned out to be a disaster and my mother never tried that again. So I think it represents the acculturation of our generation, which was much easier in Milwaukee than, let's say, in Seattle or San Francisco, Los Angeles.

So there was a nascent group of Japanese Americans that formed, I think, the Milwaukee chapter of the JACL in the '50s and '60s. and they would, their major activity as I can recall was to have a Japanese-style display, with food, at the folk festival, annual folk festival that was held in the downtown Milwaukee auditorium. It was a big deal, there were Germans, Polish, Lithuanians, Jewish, and a Japanese table sponsored by this nascent JACL group. And it was a big deal for my mother to prepare sushi and all the other delicacies and serve it at the Milwaukee Folk Festival.

VY: So was your... sorry, was your mom a member of this group, or was she just...

DS: Yeah, we can talk about the JACL in depth, but it wasn't as firmly entrenched as, let's say, in Seattle or on the West Coast. It was more of a social, once a year kind of activity. So it wasn't like an all-consuming organization, but it was pretty informal and small.

VY: I see.

DS: So that's the... I think at this juncture, where the boys are now in high school and I've just graduated in 1954, which is only, now I think about it, it's only about less than ten years after the end of the war. Graduating from high school and then moving on into college and then into careers. So I could go on for another couple of minutes, but it's up to you, if you have more questions.

VY: Well, I think maybe now is a good place to pause for now and then we can pick up more the next time we get together for an interview.

DS: But you know, it's been several hours since we've been talking, so I think it's a good idea to stop post-Minidoka, post internment, and beginning our journey up the socioeconomic ladder.

VY: I agree.

DS: So I think that this is a good juncture, and we can talk a little bit about the careers that we all pursued, and then talk about the redress and the implications of redress and the whole internment experience.

VY: Yes, I agree.

DS: I think that would be... so this would be a good juncture to stop.

VY: Okay. Well, I agree, I think there's so much to cover, and I'm really looking forward to continuing our conversation. I so appreciate all the time you spent with us today, thank you so much.

DS: Well, I've really enjoyed it.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.