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PW: What about with redress and reparations? Because they were incarcerated, I assume they received a check?

EH: Yes. They got a check.

PW: And what were they thinking, do you know?

EH: About what? About getting...

PW: I'm sorry, but yeah. Did they say anything about that when they received the check or if they'd heard about the movement, get an apology from the President?

EH: I never talked to then about that, but I know they got the money, and I got reparation and my sister got reparations, but Kathy and Peter did not, because they were born, they didn't go to camp. They were born after camp. So actually, I gave some of my money to Kathy and Peter, because I didn't really need the money, all of it. Because I felt... and it's funny, because in many ways, her generation, maybe yours, were more interested in the camp life than I was, because I was so young. And most of the Issei never talked about life in camp, so they tried to put it away or something. Or maybe they were too bitter, I don't know. I never talked to most of the Issei that I know about their camp experience. Like growing up, when I was making friends all of these years, that's one of the first questions I always asked them, "Which camp were you in?" Because they were all about my age when I'm going to college and high school. One of the questions that my mother, or not questions, but one of the statements that she made that was interesting, when she gave this talk about the camps. Because Wyoming was one of the last, Heart Mountain was one of the last camps to be built. And so most of the people came from, they came from Washington, Wapato. They were from the northern Washington area. But they were getting people that, from all over the state, especially in Southern California, people that were registered later. They had no place in the other places, they got people from all over, especially Southern California. And my mother said she thought the people in Southern California were (Mexican) because they were so dark-skinned. Because there's more sun down there than in Washington. Maybe not (...), but then they were much more tan. And I don't know if you've noticed, but the Japanese ladies and Chinese ladies, too, they always want to avoid getting a tan, they like to keep their skin very light. And I don't know why, but medically, it's probably better not to get a tan anyway, it's not good for you.

PW: Did you talk to your kids about camp when they were growing up?

EH: They never asked, hardly, I don't remember. And for me, all of the Japanese American experiences, my interests didn't start until my college years or after that. Pharmacy years was when all of that came about. But I don't think my kids just had much interest in that part. They never asked a lot of questions, that's for sure. And even my experiences are more from watching movies or DVDs of people having talked about their experience, or books that I have read that may have described what was going on.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.