<Begin Segment 8>

MU: Mitzi, tell us about this Lieutenant Dowd. What was his connection with the MIS?

MM: He was the adjutant. When I, when I, let's see... I left Topaz, 'cause I came by way of Tanforan. When I left Topaz... that was about September 23, 1943. That was a turning point in my life, you might say. And of course, I was kind of skeptical about getting on a train with all the others as though all eyes were focused on me. I felt real small but there was no incident. All I enjoyed was, my goodness, looking out the window. This time we could look out the window whereas before we couldn't. And I thought, "My, to think that this is freedom," you know. It was a wonderful feeling, but there were soldiers aboard, so I had to be very, very careful.

MU: That was when you got the assignment to MIS in Minnesota...

MM: That's right. In fact, I was not gonna stay in Topaz and rot. So when we had the first opportunity, I started to apply for employment nearby. So that in case of emergency, I could come home, "home" meaning to the folks in camp. So, I applied at ZCMI, and other offices, Remington Rand, you name it, in Salt Lake City. But the response was negative and I was really disappointed. Well, years later people laughed at me and said, "You have to be a Mormon in order to get a decent job in Salt Lake City or Utah," which I can understand.

MU: So did you become a Mormon?

MM: No, I did not. [Laughs] So I was really dejected, my morale was below ground level and that was true with many of the others, you see. Then all of a sudden, I got a letter from Yukio Kawamoto, he did very well and went on to work for the State Department, I understand. And he's the one I that participated in a Japanese oratorical contest in Fresno. And I had gone to school with him. So, he kind of remembered that I had this particular skill: typist -- they needed a Japanese typist. So when I applied, officially I got an immediate response that I was accepted. I got clearance from WRA, I guess, almost immediately so that's when I took off on September the 23rd.

MU: Okay. For your assignment with the Military Intelligence Service Language School?

MM: I don't know how I even did it, to tell you the truth. Here I am with one suitcase and a carton box with bedding, taking off from Topaz, I had never been any distance. [Laughs]

MU: How much money did the WRA give you?

MM: This is what I asked others. I'd kinda forgotten, but when they finally closed the place, I understand, each person got twenty-five dollars. Whether I collected twenty-five dollars from them then, I don't know. People said probably not. But I think I did get the train ticket to leave.

MU: That's from Topaz to...

MM: Topaz to Camp Savage. Of course, I didn't know where Camp Savage was in the first place. But I had somebody meet me in Chicago. He was a real nice person from Stanford, a Phi Beta Kappa that I got to know, and he made sure, he waited for me to board the train for St. Paul, so...

MU: From Chicago to St. Paul?

MM: Chicago to St. Paul. And of course I had to ask the conductor where I should get off in order to go to Camp Savage. He told me to get off at St. Paul, which I did. And not realizing that Mr. Oshida, (Akira) Oshida, remember? He was waiting for me at the St. Paul station.

MU: Oh, he was?

MM: But the communications -- I communicated with them up to a certain point but I didn't get the response that they would be waiting for me, somebody would be waiting for me. So, I took this trunk line to Camp Savage.

MU: Oh, you did?

MM: I did by myself. And here's this lone stationmaster. I said, "Could you tell me where the school is?" and he pointed to the flagpole, so I knew which way to go. And as I approached the flagpole, I figured the administration building was there, and that is where I met Captain Dowd, Laurence P. Dowd, that I had talked to in San Francisco.

MU: Okay, well, that's good. Now, what happened to the typewriter that he was asking about?

MM: I told you that typewriter -- Lieutenant Dowd, at that time said he had found a typewriter, Japanese typewriter, that he had no need for that extra one, which he should have taken. That was stored. But I don't know where the whereabouts of that typewriter is now. But now you're into computers so nobody wants that. [Laughs]

MU: It's got historical significance. Now in Savage, did you have a Japanese typewriter?

MM: There was, yes, yes. And soon after -- of course, I hate to tell you -- but the person that I was to work with was one that I felt I probably wouldn't get along too well. And the turn of events was such that Mr. Aiso, at the time, needed someone to help him, so I was real happy to move, temporarily, that is. Although he had a chief clerk by the name of, Sergeant, I think, Tsutomu Matsumoto. You probably know of him because he retired as a full colonel in Berkeley, I believe. But he passed away.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.