<Begin Segment 3>

FK: How did you find out about Pearl Harbor?

SM: Oh, yeah, I think the next door neighbor kind of hinted something was going on over there. She turned the radio on and got all the news there. Everybody kind of felt bad about it. We didn't know exactly what was gonna happen there. And, well, there's debating what to do with the Japanese for quite a while. Everybody in the Japanese community is kind of getting together once in a while and trying to find out what really is going to happen. And about February they had a Tolan Committee come to Seattle. Tolan was a representative, congressman from California and he had kind of a... asking politicians mostly what they thought about what they should do with the Japanese. And me and Pete Ohtaki, Paul's brother, we attended one of the meetings. It was kind of a cut and dried affair. I don't think they had any intentions of keeping the Japanese on the coast. It was kind of... what would you say? Newspapers, everybody figured they were gonna evacuate the Japanese anyway. And all the politicians around Seattle are all for evacuation. And the only person I remember, kind of dissenting opinion, the mayor of Tacoma, Harry Cain, he probably committed political suicide than anything.

FK: How did you feel after that meeting? What did you go home and do?

SM: Pretty bad. First thing you knew we had some troops on Bainbridge Island, too, and I remember had a artillery emplacement right by Weaver Road down there, and probably some other places, too, on the island. Anyway, it was really, they were really afraid they were going to come over here, I guess. And the Japanese were going great guns in Asia, and all the possessions around there were falling left and right. So anyway, I guess they put out a directive that you were supposed to turn in all your firearms. I guess I didn't get the message, anyway. When the FBI raided all the homes there in February, they found it. They found that .22 rifle, the single shot rifle. So they took my mother in. They detained her for, I don't know, one or two days anyway, whatever it was.

FK: Was she the only woman that was taken, or do you know if any other women were taken? It was mostly men that were taken.

SM: Probably not. I don't know. I can't think of anybody else that was taken. He took quite a few male guys, I guess including your father.

FK: Did she ever talk about that experience of being held?

SM: No, she never did. Anyway, the neighbors kind of got a big laugh out of it. [Laughs] What are you gonna do?

FK: So what do you remember about when the notice came that we had to leave the island? Do you remember when they posted the notice?

SM: No, I really don't. So many things going on then. I remember Tatsu fooling around making a trailer for the truck. He's gonna put some of the baggage on the trailer, too, I guess. I don't know what he expected, what kind of directive he expected from the government there. Anyway, it finally turned it out you could only bring one suitcase per person or something, anyway.

FK: So do you remember that day? Did they come to pick you up, or what did they do?

SM: Oh, yeah. Yeah, they came in a truck and picked us up. We had a horse. That's the only thing I remember. It was kind of sad leaving that old horse there. Anyway, some guy took over the farm, he didn't do too well.

FK: So do you remember who that was that took over your farm?

SM: Pardon?

FK: Do you remember who that was that took over your farm?

SM: Yeah. It was a Filipino guy, and we didn't really know him. I don't know if you remember Orville Robertson, member of the American Friends. He became the power of attorney for the place. He really, he took good care of the place. I got to hand it to those Quakers. When the chips are down, they were right there. I remember when I went back to Chicago, too, they had a hostel going already, too, the American Friends. I went to a Lutheran hostel in Chicago. So how many Japanese you think were in a Lutheran church there at that time? How many in the Quakers there? I didn't know how the rest of these denominations, they didn't do a thing for you. I really hand it to these Quakers, they get very, very little donations, too, I imagine. They really, really help you out.

FK: Well, do you know if they helped other families besides yours? Do you know if Orville helped any other families besides yours?

SM: Robertson?

FK: Yeah.

SM: I don't know. I don't think so. Anyway, I ended up in, I finally ended up in New York, and one day I get a telephone call from Orville Robertson, and the Quakers are having a big meeting in New York, so he wanted to see me, too, have a chat, what's going on. So that was pretty nice of him, too.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.