<Begin Segment 11>

JN: Today, when you... how do you feel about what happened to you and your family during World War II? And how do you feel about the memorial?

VT: Well, as far as what I, what happened to me during the war and after the war -- 'course, I was only fifteen years old, so my parents, it was bad for my parents because they didn't have an income after they left Bainbridge for a while. But I was still a student, so... there's really no different. But I think that while I was in Manzanar, I did get the feeling that I really needed to go to more schooling, that just high school was not enough. I know that on Bainbridge there were some Niseis who were out of high school and were working on the farm with their parents. For them, their income was interrupted, so I could see where they'd be really upset about goin' to camp. Everybody had to go to the service, so you can't really be too upset about that. I mean, if you're a citizen, there's a good chance that you're gonna be in the service, too, unless you're 4-F like I was.

I know that you had asked me earlier, earlier about what I thought about the memorial. I think it's a good idea to have this down in video form or in a booklet so that it could be passed on to further generations, and what happened during World War II will never be forgotten. It would always be reminded by something like the memorial or some books that someone has written. I don't know if any of the students nowadays know much about what happened after December 7th, and really not taught very much through their elementary and secondary schooling. So I think it's a good idea to have something like this written down either in video form in a booklet.

JN: How do you feel about how it's related to the current events with the Middle East issues, and do you feel this is, this might help in the kind of decisions we make in, for the current issues?

VT: Well... I'm a little upset at what's happened over in Iraq. So many people are being killed by roadside bombs or some terrorists. And the poor soldier doesn't have a chance over there. For one thing, I think they should have had more people over there, more soldiers. I think they only have a hundred and thirty thousand, a hundred and forty thousand. I think earlier, someone, someone in the service had suggested we oughta have at least two hundred, two hundred fifty thousand soldiers over there. But I guess Rumsfeld didn't agree with that and never did increase the number of soldiers over there. I feel that if they had more people over there, that they wouldn't have this trouble where a roadside bomb, someone set it off and kill people.

JN: Do you, do you feel that the American citizens of Middle East descent in the United States could have the same kind of discrimination that happened in World War II?

VT: I think that there might be. I mean... it could be the same thing that happened to us. I mean, hopefully it never happens to them. I... I'm sure that most of the people in the United States are gonna back the United States and not fight for the enemy. So, yeah, I would hate to see them sent to a camp like we were. Yeah, I guess that's about it. [Laughs]

JN: Do you have anything else you want to, you want to say or talk about... whether it's your early years on the island, what you remember, the war years, after the war... your, you went into biotech field, is that is my understanding? And how, even as an adult after the war, how you think your experiences were affected in your, how you live your own adult life. And anything in general?

VT: Well, I can't think of anything I could add. I tried to live a normal life and I really never was an activist, where I would get out and say something about something that happened to myself or to my friend. But... maybe that's what was brought on by my parents, the way we were brought up that we shouldn't get out and say bad things about other people and, and get in trouble.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.