<Begin Segment 26>

SF: Okay, I wanna move ahead a little bit, and talk about something that's related, and that is the redress movement and the railroad workers'...

TS: Yeah.

SF: ...part in that. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about how you got involved in, in the redress movement for railroad workers, and how that got started, and what the issues were.

TS: Well, redress came out and -- first of all, initially, I didn't go to camp. I got paid -- I was working all the time I was paid. So I -- we really didn't expect it. But then, as time goes on, why, it turned out that Eddie, my friend, and Bob Bunya, another guy I worked with, they both sent in the redress form and they got their checks. So I think, "Oh, something I wrote was wrong." So I studied the thing, and wrote down -- I didn't want to put anything down that was a lie, that'd put me in jail or anything. But I really addressed the issue and looked at what was expected, then I sent mine back in. And kicked back and kicked -- wrote to Reno and sent -- what do you call -- ? Registered mail to Janet Reno, and couple, three time. Pretty soon, a check comes. So that was all there was to it.

SF: Now, did railroad workers who were -- they were, most of them were originally fired, I understand, after Pearl Harbor. Is that right?

TS: Ah, most -- yeah. Most of 'em that worked on other railroads were. Yeah.

SF: And...

TS: I think they -- most of 'em musta got it by now.

SF: But they didn't... they didn't get it originally. Right? They got it later.

TS: I don't, I really don't know. The ones that went to camp obviously got it. And the other ones -- of course a lot of 'em died.

SF: And...

TS: I really don't know because by the time I got mine, I must've been, what, sixty or something, or sixty, sixty, yeah.

SF: What year did you receive your apology and the redress check?

TS: God, I can't remember now, but it wasn't too long ago, I think. There was a guy that I worked with, a Harry Kato -- he was on the Coast and worked on the gang with me -- and he didn't get his. He lives in Chicago, or has since he got out of the army. He, he didn't get it. So he asked me to write something in support. So I wrote a letter, and couched it in certain terms and sent it to 'em, and now he's got his.

SF: And this was just recently in the last -- what -- ? Couple years?

TS: Yeah, last couple months.

SF: Oh. Wow. So the redress -- I'm sorry, the railroad workers got their redress apology and check, not based upon the fact that they -- obviously weren't in the camps -- I mean, like the Great Northern people, at least...

TS: Yeah.

SF: ...but because their freedom of movement or...?

TS: Yeah, basically, yeah. Gee, I had home address in Seattle, so -- my dad's place, so... of course, I have nothing else to put on any of my forms. I signed up to work for the railroad, and your home address, why that's all I had. I had no -- nothing else. So that was probably one of things that happened.

SF: So just kind of looking back, as kind of a last question, how, how do you look back at your whole wartime experience, and, with -- how do you feel about it and think about it?

TS: Well, I don't have any bitterness. I think things happened that weren't too good, but a lotta things happened. And I know I've heard of people that are real bitter about lotta things, but all it does, it just hurts yourself, I think. I mean, let the past be the past, and you learn from it and keep going.

SF: Right, right. All right. I think I've asked my questions.

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