<Begin Segment 20>

LH: But from the youngsters' point of view, lot of people have said that maybe camp was actually a positive experience and there might have been some positive aspects to it?

MS: I think there were some. I can't say there were, that the whole thing was a terrible travesty for everybody. There are some people who do say that that was a fun time for them. Like my brother, who got his freedom, he probably would say, "Oh hey, I had a ball." Well yeah, he had nothing but freedom, but it affected the rest of his life. I'm sure that he would have turned out differently if he had remained in the situation as he was growing with, up under the guidance of my father.

LH: How do you think his life would have been different?

MS: I think he would have gone on to college, and I think he would have gone into commercial art. He was very good in art and some other areas related. As it was, he got into so much problems with schooling, and he was kicked out of so many schools that his only saving grace when he got to the age where he was either to graduate or get kicked out or whatever, was to join the air force. And that was the best thing because that gave him discipline again, the discipline that he didn't have from junior high school on because of camp. My other brother was not affected as much because he was closer in age to me, and I think therefore he was still in, under the discipline of my parents.

LH: So both of you were about six, seven?

MS: He was seven. Of course, we aged as we went in there but when we first started I was six and he was seven.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.