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MW: Did you think, after Pearl Harbor, did you think that it... can you remember, did you immediately think that your buddy Jerry and his family was going to be in danger, or did it kind of come as a surprise?

EH: It came as a shock.

MW: When did you first realize? 'Cause there was a lot of talk nationally. Were you, were people on the island aware of that?

EH: Well, we thought it would be just the Japanese nationals that would be taken away. Not the younger group that was born, and American citizens. And when the soldiers came on the island, I had a talk with one of 'em, and he said, "There's nothing I can do. I'm under orders to take 'em out." And then I went down, I was working for Emmanuel Olson that day, Bainbridge Mercantile, and I took off and went over to see, I wanted to say goodbye to all of 'em, and especially Jerry.

MW: This was on the 30th that you're talking about, the day that they left?

EH: Yes. And I drove in, down to the parking lot at the Eagledale ferry dock, and the soldier says, "Up there." And they herded us up there, and there was other people up there and there was more that came. And verbally I didn't get to see Jerry or say goodbye or what. I told 'em, I says, "Here I grew up with this guy." And...

MW: He couldn't allow you to go and talk with him?

EH: Uh-uh. Of course, I didn't know... they brought 'em in in trucks and unloaded 'em. And who they were, I don't know. But I have a picture of Sadamoto and Kido and Lefty and Jerry all walking down the Eagledale ferry dock, and I think it was taken by either your dad or somebody.

MW: I think there were photographers from one of the Seattle papers.

EH: Some photographer took it. And they were in their letterman sweater with the B on it.

MW: Before... the soldiers came and posted about a week ahead of that. Was that when you first realized that they were going to leave, that all of the Japanese on the island were going to be forced to leave?

EH: Yeah.

MW: So you learned about it the same time everybody else did.

EH: Yeah.

MW: Did you talk about with Jerry or Sada or any of your friends?

EH: Well, I didn't want to hurt their feelings, but I wanted 'em to know that I didn't want 'em to go. They left without... I heard from Jerry from a letter after he had gotten down to California.

MW: Do you still have that letter?

EH: No.

MW: We don't think to keep things like that.

EH: I wished I had.

MW: Yes.

EH: That would have been a wonderful thing to have. But we wrote until I went in the service, and then I didn't think to take his address along with me. Then I didn't see Jerry again until, boy, after the war. I came home in '46, and I think Jerry was in Seattle. And I went to Alaska right after I got home. And went up there for six months. So then I really didn't see Jerry until I came back from Alaska. 'Cause we always used to buy our meat for the family from Mo and Johnny, and I think Jerry was working in there, too, then.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.