<Begin Segment 19>

CO: There were some meetings and things around the anti-draft, was there not?

ES: Oh, there were a group of people, anti-feelings. They were a committee group, I think Heart Mountain was one of the early ones that formed a committee group. But I didn't participate because I, they knew my stand, and they got a few of 'em, but we didn't have no riot or anything.

CO: And did you feel that you were recording something historic? Did you feel that what you were doing was going to be important and it was for history, or did you just do it for fun?

ES: Well, I thought when I said, "Let conscience be your guide," I thought it was neutral stand and everybody has some conscience, why they object or approve. And let them guide for themselves, because some of the parents have one son in service, and the other son won't go, so if parents is influence or what, I don't know, but I think each individual to his own, and that should be.

WH: I think what Emiko was asking was, when you were taking your movies, did you think, "Oh, I'm taking a piece of history"? Or did you just do it 'cause it was fun?

ES: No, history.

WH: Can you tell me about that?

ES: Well, I've been collector, collecting books, collecting because ever since I started taking pictures, and I always wanted a collection, and that's how I started. And the reason I wanted more collection at that time, 'cause I feel, far as I know, the history learned in school, well, never will repeat again. So I figured, well, this will never repeat again, and I can tell my children if I have children or grandchildren or leave some history behind. Because it certainly hurt all persons of Japanese ancestry on the Pacific Coast. And never in my knowledge of history, such a thing did a occur to any group or any other group, different ethnic group.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2005 Densho and The Japanese American Film Preservation Project. All Rights Reserved.