<Begin Segment 31>

SY: And what was your participation in the commission hearings? Did you --

NG: No, I just, I was not part of it. I just went to...

SY: You did go to the --

NG: Yeah, just went to go hear 'em. But, you know...

SY: So you went how many days?

NG: I know I went a couple of days, and I think only one night 'cause when I went during the day, then I dragged my husband after work. I said, "You gotta, you gotta hear this."

SY: So that, so you were, after the commission hearings, then you felt like that was the right thing to do.

NG: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I heard stories -- but even today we're hearing things, I'm hearing things that I didn't know. But definitely at that time it was, like, an eye opener, did not know these stories at all. Nobody's, nobody ever shared stories like that.

SY: Did the San Fernando Valley JACL, did they recruit people for the hearings? Do you remember?

NG: I think they did. I think, I mean, they encouraged Dr. Oda, I know.

SY: Mary Oda.

NG: Yeah, went. And I was shocked that my mother, our good friend, he testified and he's not a leader or anything, but he... yeah, I think that's what was so surprising, that people not in the news, just regular folk, had the courage to go up there and tell their story. Yeah.

SY: And were your parents part of that group who really wanted to, were disappointed that they were gonna have these hearings and then ended up --

NG: No, they, they just were not part of the process, so it didn't matter to them. I mean, they didn't have an opinion one way or another.

SY: So after the hearings did you stay, or did you do anything more to be part of the whole redress?

NG: Yeah, well, the kinds of things you do. You know how you go to fundraisers and how you do, write letters and all that kind of stuff.

SY: So you were involved in that.

NG: Yeah. We did those kinds of things.

SY: And that was with the JACL?

NG: With JACL, but you know, you, I mean, none of us thought this is gonna happen. None of us. It just, it was just unheard of, that... it's not gonna happen. 'Cause it, we'd done a lot of letter writings, on different issues. This was not...

SY: Right. So how, so when it passed and when you got your check, did your, did you -- well, you had such a big family, everybody, you probably could've started something. [Laughs]

NG: I don't think we celebrated. It was just, I don't think it was like a celebration. It was just, I don't know, just something that happened.

<End Segment 31> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.