<Begin Segment 3>

HM: At the time of the FBI round up did your dad have to, was he taken away, or...

KO: No he wasn't. He was with us throughout the whole affair, Manzanar, the whole bit. When we were transferred up to, to Minidoka in Idaho, he was fine. He enjoyed being back with his old buddies. But after just a few days there he was in that camp area between the two, Area A and Area B, there was a fire station there, he was walking right past the fire station and he collapsed. And... we were there maybe for a week or two. But he did see some of his old Seattle buddies. And they were all down there in Area A, so it was a long walk from Block 44 where we were back down to the lower area. He lasted about a week at the hospital there, camp. And succumbed to a cardiac, or not a cardiac but a cerebral hemorrhage. And as it turns out, having known that, it's one of the things that we look for and guard against within the whole family. Mother lived on to the ripe old age of eighty-six or seven. And at that time we were... she was in Chicago with my oldest brother Brush. She had a aneurysm at some location they could not reach, even if they tried. And she held on for about a week there in the hospital there in Chicago. At which time there still wasn't time for, to do much for her. Although they thought they would try some experimental procedure to try to reach that area. But she succumbed until before I think it was just died along those lines.

HM: Were there any thoughts or opinions about the evacuation among your family, your siblings or parents, about the whole evacuation?

KO: At the time of evacuation, Nibs was already in the service, in Fort Lewis. And Ebe was away to Washington State at Pullman. So, that left mom and dad and the four of us kids, the two oldest and the two youngest. And I was the very youngest. You'd better give me that exact question back again please.

HM: What were your thoughts about having to evacuate, having to leave the island? Were there differing opinions in your family?

KO: No. I personally had no qualms about evacuation except that where would we go and what's ahead of us. Beyond that I was free and loose and I'll take what comes.

HM: Do you remember the process of being evacuated?

KO: They, the bit about you could take whatever you could carry was pertinent. But, one case, I suppose is about all... I had no needs for much more, personally. 'Cause I wasn't, not knowing where I was going or why. One case was enough, really.

HM: Do you remember leaving on the island, leaving on the ferry and the train?

KO: I do remember being rounded up. An army truck came, rolled into the yard at that designated morning. And there was no problem for me to get on. Might have been a problem for Dad to make that climb onto the back of that truck. But apparently we all managed to get on and off we went. And the strangest thing, it turned out to be Eagledale. But in my mind, all I could think of was not Winslow. It was a strange ferry dock to me. And Eagledale dock was something unknown to me. Although I knew the ferry was... stopped there. It did not occur to me that that was the Eagledale dock that we boarded from. I do remember the ferry ride, but I can't specifically remember that as Eagledale dock.

HM: What were your thoughts as you... what do you remember about the ferry ride?

KO: It was a nice day. Beyond that... seems to me we boarded and we stayed down on the car deck. I don't know if anyone ever even tried to get up above to the passenger area. It was a good enough day that standing on that car deck was pleasant, 'til we got to Seattle. That's it.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.