<Begin Segment 15>

SY: And then how did you make that, how did you decide to go work at the hospital?

YY: Well, one of my friends told me about this one fellow going out of camp. He was a pharmacist. And they were looking for somebody, so I went and asked, then they said they'll hire me, so then I started working there.

SY: So you didn't have to apply. There were, were there other people who wanted your, that job?

YY: Not that I know of.

SY: 'Cause you, did it, were they looking at your qualifications, like the fact that you went to school, pharmacy school?

YY: No, they didn't. They didn't say anything about, I don't remember saying anything about it. But I guess, talked to them and they said they'll hire me, so I started working there.

SY: And whereabouts was the hospital in relation to where you were, your barracks?

YY: Let's see, I was, at that time I was living in Block 28.

SY: So your family moved. And how did that happen? Why did your family --

YY: My mother wanted, had a problem with her thyroid, so she said, they asked her if she wanted to move closer to the hospital, so we moved to Block 28. There was another block, 29, and then the hospital.

SY: So you were close. And the, same thing, the whole family moved and you were in the same configuration?

YY: Yeah, we were in 28-10-2.

SY: So you were in the inner barrack, so you had people on both sides.

YY: Both sides. There were four units there, we were number two.

SY: Do you remember how long it was before you moved when you first, from the time you first got there?

YY: No. No, I can't remember.

SY: It was maybe a few months?

YY: Yeah, at least a few months.

SY: And your mother was going to the hospital regularly because of this thyroid condition. Do you remember her being sick?

YY: No. But I know at the end there she got an operation.

SY: So when you first got to the hospital, when you first started working there, can you describe it? Were there, how many rooms, how many...

YY: Well, it was a pretty good size hospital. I was, keep thinking that, they told me that it was a hundred bed hospital. And there must've been about, let's see, three, at least three Japanese physicians, that I can remember, maybe four, plus the director was a hakujin physician. And then they had, I know there was one, one fellow that was a medical student when the war broke out, and he was helping. And there was another fellow that took care of the first aid part. He wasn't, he wasn't a physician, but I don't know what his...

SY: Background.

YY: Yeah, I don't know what it was, but he did all the first aid, emergency.

SY: So by that time, when you got to the hospital, had they, there were, had there been other doctors there besides these three Japanese American doctors?

YY: That, I can't, I don't know that.

SY: But they were hired from within the camp. And they were all, you remember the doctors, who they were?

YY: I can't remember their names anymore. [Laughs]

SY: You don't have to remember the names. Do you remember anything about them?

YY: Well, I know one was a specialist in ear, nose and throat. And I know one was supposed to be a very good surgeon. But other than that, I can't...

SY: Do you know if they came from the Japanese hospital in Boyle Heights, or were they from all different areas?

YY: I'm pretty sure that they were all in the Los Angeles area.

SY: So did you, you kind of knew them just to work around them. You didn't...

YY: Yeah, well, I knew who they were, but being in a hospital, you see them all the time.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.