<Begin Segment 4>

JD: Let's jump ahead a little. I'd like to focus on the military and the war period, MIS and so on. So 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, how did you feel about that? How did your family feel when they heard about that?

RM: Well, it was a surprise to me; I didn't expect that. But the reason, being in Japan, I know their condition. And also, after I graduated high school, I worked for the Japanese grocery store, and so one day, Sunday, I also had my... see, great aunt, I think, called because my father's cousin had a barber shop there. So it happened to be a Sunday morning about ten o'clock, I decided to go get hair cut. See, my auntie was nice to me, and she always cut my hair for free, because barber. And so Sunday morning I think I'm gonna get hair cut, tried to go, and I had my own car and tried to go there, and turned the radio on, and announced that Japanese air force dropped bomb on Pearl Harbor. And that surprised me, and I didn't expect that. But meantime, I had a shortwave radio, [inaudible] radio and all wave, so it's a shortwave radio from Japan. And since I understand Japanese, hearing Japanese news, what's going on in China and Japan, and relation with this and that, but I didn't expect that they would drop bomb on Hiroshima.

JD: Did you, when you heard that, did you think the U.S. government was going to react against the Japanese American community? Was that one of your thoughts?

RM: No. At the time, we don't know what's gonna happen, and just all the excitement. I didn't expect that we'd be rounded up. What happened was just before the war, we started a draft, and my kid brother, my brother Tsutomu was inducted in the army.

JD: He volunteered or he was drafted?

RM: Just before the war.

JD: He was drafted or he volunteered?

RM: He was drafted, not volunteer. And also, President Roosevelt picked a number out of fishbowl, and my number didn't come out, so I was glad I wasn't inducted. But my brother Tom was inducted, you see. And so I wasn't in the army at the time, but the war broke out, we didn't know what happened, but then decided to line us up and send into assembly center, end up in concentration camps.

JD: So March of 1942, the executive order, all of you were rounded up. Can you say a little bit about what it was like when you and your family was sent to Arkansas?

RM: Well, my immediate family were in Japan. See, my uncle was in Los Angeles, so he was sent to Manzanar. And I was in Long Beach group, but since I was living in Los Angeles, they sent me to assembly center, Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia. And then I was there first, assembly center. Then as soon as the camp was set up, they were sent there. Anyway, when I was there, I want to keep myself busy, so I volunteered to work, and end up that I was in charge of vegetable department, feeding ten thousand people until I been sent out to other camp. So I stayed there about six months, and then finally they completed two concentration camp in Arkansas, one in Rohwer and one in Jerome. And I happened to be sent to, we'd be the last group to leave the assembly center, Santa Anita Racetrack. And the group was the Long Beach group, and I went to Long Beach High, and while I was attending high school I stayed with people from Kagoshima, and he was picked up by FBI because he was the head of the Japanese language school, PTA member or whatever, and also he was involved in the native association there. So then his wife and three kids were left alone, they don't know what to do. So we thought first, gonna take them to either Colorado or Utah. First three months before we were sent in, you could voluntarily move out of California. So I thought I'm gonna take the family with me because they helped me to send me to school. So I got a car myself, and also I got a trailer. Then the rumors started, see, if you had a flat tire, they're not gonna sell you the tire, so you get stranded in the desert. And also gasoline was rationed, and run out of gas, they don't, not going to sell you. So that's not good idea.

JD: Where were you gonna take them?

RM: Take either, anywhere in Utah or Colorado, Denver, Colorado, because Japanese community there.

JD: You thought you could settle there, maybe make a farm or find work?

RM: Yeah, find work. But that was the original intention, but then started, rumors started that everything rationed, tire, gasoline and so forth, so we decided to wait and look where they're gonna take us, to end up in concentration camp. The family I was helped, and myself, were sent to Jerome, Arkansas.

JD: The father who was associated with this Japanese language school, did he end up in a justice camp or Tule Lake?

RM: No, no. This is a detention camp, they pick up, the FBI, it's a different way. Maybe possible sympathizer or saboteur with the Japanese government.

JD: Where did they take him?

RM: Take him to Texas.

JD: It's funny now because in about a minute, we're gonna find out how you got out of Jerome camp to go to language school to become an important part of the U.S. military, and just a little while before that, this man who was connected with a Japanese language school was rounded up by the FBI for that same reason.

RM: Yeah.

JD: That seems funny.

RM: That's funny, but now they realized that they needed Japanese, so change mind. Now, even though we're in a camp, what happened was when draft came, I'm physically fit, so 1-A, you know. So was my brother, but just didn't need so many because the war didn't start at that time, it was prewar. So I thought I was glad I was 1-A but didn't have to serve. Now they classify me as 4-C, that stands for "enemy alien." I'm not an enemy and I'm not an alien. So that's what made me mad. Also, I have to vacate my... I was living in an apartment, but only thing you carry is just suitcase, carry, itself. You cannot get extra goods with you. So you have to leave everything behind, then end up in me losing everything.

JD: Your car, too?

RM: That made me so mad, that they put me into concentration camp, and I lost my car, I lost my other radios, I lost all other things. The bank deposit and everything because they considered "enemy alien property." And car, I left, cannot sell it, they didn't buy, so I left it with my friend. Anyway, only thing I could carry was a suitcase with my clothing. Then we went to camp, then so I want to keep myself busy, so I volunteered to work, and they made me assistant... not assistant, but foreman of the vegetable department to feed the internees.

JD: Good job for you. That's good, that drew on your experience from Los Angeles.

RM: Yes, since I had an experience, what could do, so I told 'em when I went to school I worked for the wholesale produce market, so I know vegetable and fruits. Then also I worked for grocery store, so in the end, when they transferred me to Jerome, I volunteered. I want to keep myself busy instead of idle, so I volunteered and became a storekeeper for the mess hall.

JD: Let's jump to when was your, did you get the chance to leave the camp and join the military? How did that happen?

RM: Well, what happened was when I went to this concentration camp, has a machine gun for the guard, but they're not guarding us, the machine gun was set toward inside of the camp. Then if you go near the fence, if you tried to cross the fence, they shoot you. So I want to get out any way because I want freedom. I was young and I miss going to see, I went to high school in Long Beach, so amusement center, and also go to movie. I want freedom. So I want to get out any way, escape, and so they shoot you. And I was so mad because I lost, no freedom, and what happened was a grocery boy, I was going to the farm, customer all over the Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Riverside County, so I met a lot of farmer's girls, daughters, and friend and everybody. But since we were sent to different camp and we lost contact, so I don't have a friend and have to make a new friend.

Well, so mad, so I want to get out of there anyway, and no way of getting out. Fortunately, one day, recruiting officer from the army came looking for a volunteer to go to language school, Japanese language school. And so I already knew Japanese, so I don't have to go to school. But know enough to get out of camp, if I join, they said I could get out of camp. So that's the reason. At the time, I didn't think about, not the patriotic reasons I want to volunteer, but I volunteered to get out of the camp. So I didn't stay that long, little over a month in the concentration camp, but I was kept in assembly center. Anyway, gave me a chance to get out of camp, to join. But since I joined there, like my mother told me, to be loyal to the country where I was born. So I decided to show --

JD: Your mother was, and other family, immediately family, was in Japan now. Did you hear from them? How did you feel about --

RM: No, I didn't hear, so at the time, I'd been corresponding, so what I did was, the Depression time, and I had a lot of siblings, and all going to school. And what happened was my father was a photographer, and doing all right because no money developing the printing. That's the service. You make money on making the portrait picture. So he was doing all right. But I didn't know what happened because when the war broke out, all of a sudden, cut off. But meantime, when I was working, it's the Depression time, so I make money, I send my money to help my family. Even though they're doing all right, but they needed money because I got so many sibling younger than me, so I helped them.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.