<Begin Segment 21>

BK: Earlier on, you had mentioned that you were questioned by the FBI in Boston. Could you tell us a little bit more about that experience?

SU: See, I had applied -- I had heard that there was a job at Harvard teaching Japanese, elementary Japanese, to this class. But in order to get the job, I had to get a clearance from the FBI from the East Coast. So this man came unexpectedly one afternoon, spent all day long, 'til about dinnertime. But the things that he brought out was so interesting. He said, "You know where the Tokuda Drug Store is on Yesler Way in Seattle?" "Yes." "Well, do you know so-and-so." All my friends, who frequented that place, someone gave their names to FBI. And this is years before Pearl Harbor.

BK: But they had all that information?

SU: Yes. That's what they had. And then I had the opportunity of addressing various church groups all over New England. So I went from Rhode Island, New England, to all over Massachusetts, on these speaking things. And especially the one that I addressed, some students at Harvard. And he says, "Did someone write that speech for you?" I said, "No, I'm capable of making my own speeches." "You sure?" He really stressed that, wanted to know. Because, I guess someone had -- oh, and then he asked me, "Do you think putting you people in camp was wrong?" I said, "Very much. I was very much against it. Very wrong." So anyway, so he asked me all kinds of questions. So from then on, every time I would speak in churches, I would look over the crowd, and I would ask myself, "Now, which one of you are the FBI person?" But I could never tell, because especially, I was very happy to address these churches in, and organizations in New England was because that first Christmas in camp, was in the camp paper, there was an article about a little boy asking his mother, "How can Santa Claus come here, when there's barbed wire fence around us? How can he get in?" Well, someone wrote to the church people, and the New England church people, especially, responded by sending us boxes and boxes of toys. And, see, each block had a block manager, and the block manager sent us the list of children under certain age, boy or girl. And then we arranged all the toys and all in this big rec room that first Christmas. And then the managers would choose the toys that he felt was needed in his block. So then I wrote a letter of thank you to these church people. And in it, I think that, thing about the little boy asking his mother, "How can Santa Claus get beyond these barbed wire?" I saw that letter afterwards, that had been delivered, and they crossed out the barbed wire and other things, various other things, that I had written there. So it was censored.

BK: So the mail was censored as it left camp? Obviously.

SU: Censored. But I was very happy to say thank you to those people in person, because so many people didn't know about it.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.