<Begin Segment 32>

MU: Now, one other thing is, you have five grandchildren, three children of your own, now five grandchildren. You don't know how many more is gonna come along.

GK: Hope not. [Laughs]

MU: [Laughs] Do you feel that you've made things a little bit easier for them?

GK: No... I think maybe easier for my children, grandchildren are just growing up like any other grandchildren anyplace. They don't speak Japanese, and my children don't speak Japanese. My oldest daughter went to Japanese classes, and she reads, writes, and speaks pretty good Japanese. But the second is a son who speaks no Japanese, and the third wants to study Japanese, because she's the CPA and when she became a CPA she aspired to have some Japanese clients. So she studied Japanese. But she gave it up, because Japanese language is too difficult. And her practice as a CPA, among her own group, was enough to take care of her business aspirations.

MU: But your contribution, your work, laid the groundwork for their...

GK: I think so. But it's not going down to third, I mean, my grandchildren. They're growing up just like any other grandchildren anyplace else.

MU: You've got no influence on them.

GK: I have no influence, except that they have some Japanese background, in that everything Japanese is not foreign to them. So whenever we talk about Japanese things, Japanese food, or meet Japanese, they accept the situation as natural, social activities. So in that sense, I think they have pretty good...

MU: We want to conclude this interview, George, is there any one last thought that you'd like to tell us? Concerning your life, or... any words of wisdom for young people?

GK: Not words of wisdom, but my feeling. When I was sent to Japan I hated the whole situation. I hated my father for sending us to Japan. And ten years of my stay in Japan, I was lonely and, lonely and hungry, because I was in a very poor family. And upon graduation from grammar school, I was sent to work in the city as a helper in (stores). And I was only too happy to come back. And when I left Japan in 1928, I promised that I'd never look back to Japan, and never go back to Japan, (...) forget about everything, and leave everything behind, and start life in the United States over again. And that's what I did. But then again, my Japanese background is so ingrained in my experience that when I started going to college -- and there were no Japanese language teachers in the Denver area, they asked me to teach Japanese, and I needed the money to go to college -- so I started teaching Japanese, and all this background came in handy.

MU: It's kind of a blessing in disguise.

GK: Yes, I think so. And then when I was drafted into the service, and went into MIS, I was selected as an instructor because I was, because of my Japanese background. And I enjoyed teaching Japanese at Camp Savage. And ever since then -- because of my military service -- (...) (I was appreciative of) my Japanese background. And then, PACMIRS, and from there I went to Japan. And I enjoyed my stay in Japan. And all this because of my training, way back when I hated it.

MU: [Laughs] Well, you --

GK: When I was asked to volunteer for Japan at PACMIRS, I said, "No." But I was sent anyway. But I enjoyed everything.

MU: Well, next time you go to see your father's grave you gotta thank him for sending you over there.

GK: Maybe so. I was sad and I hated it, but still...

MU: Well, George, thanks a lot for taking time to be interviewed. Certainly very interesting for me and for these two people, I'm sure.

GK: Well, I sure hope so. And thank you for the interview, because it brought back a lot of memories which I had more or less forgotten, or tried to forget. But now, it's something that I could... it's worthwhile remembering.

MU: Good. Okay, thank you.

<End Segment 32> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.