<Begin Segment 4>

Q: Could you tell us about when you decided that you were going to resist the evacuation order, and any plans you kind of made, or discussions?

FK: Oh. No, I didn't plan to resist the order, did you say? You mean fight the evacuation order? When I was in prison, I knew that I was gonna have a hearing of some sort. And I felt that knew I was an American citizen, but with everybody against you, the government against you, and no one to help you, I just figured it was just a slim chance, but you know, I was going to see what I can do and see what happened. Until I got, the guard called me and told me that I had a visitor, and I didn't think he could help me either, whoever it was, coming down to see me. And since everybody was in camp or in the military, my friends were either in the military or in camp, I didn't know who it was, and I assumed it was either a church group, someone representing the church group or something like that, or you know... but not to help me fight the case. Even though when he did introduce himself as an American Civil Liberties representative, I didn't even know what that was. And then until, after he told me, and if I would be interested in fighting the case. And he said he would help me, that his organization consists of lawyers and so forth. And that's when I decided to go ahead with it.

Q: If we could go back, though, prior to your arrest. Everybody was being evacuated, and you decided not to go, or to stay behind, I guess. How did that come about? Could you tell us what you were doing in preparation to stay behind and not go to the assembly center?

FK: I told you before, I mean, that I left.

Q: Uh-huh, okay. All right. Well, then, could you kind of tell us the circumstances, or what was going on when you got arrested? How that came about...

FK: Oh, how that came about?

Q: Yeah, and how you felt and what happened.

FK: Oh. Well, it was on the weekend, and I had a date with my girlfriend in San Leandro. I don't know what it was, we were gonna go shopping or what we were gonna do.

[Interruption]

Q: Fred, could you tell us what were, what was going on when you got arrested? What were you doing, and then what happened after that?

FK: I had a date with my girlfriend that day that I got caught. I assume it was a weekend, a Saturday. I guess we were planning to go shopping or something like that, and I was supposed to meet her at a corner in San Leandro, street corner. And I waited for her, evidently she was delayed for some reason, so I went into the drugstore to get some cigarettes at the same time. I believe someone recognized me, either at the drugstore or when I went back to the corner. They must have seen me before... since I lived there and I've been in town all my life, practically, living there since I was a kid. So someone recognized me and reported me. So the police came in the patrol car, came over and started talking to me and wanted my identification and so forth. All I had was a draft... he said, "You got a driver's license?" I said, "No, I don't." So that's all they had. And he evidently had the military police come along, too, 'cause the jeep finally came a few minutes after that. And he came out, come over and talk to me. He didn't say too much, though, 'cause he didn't know what to say. And he just looked me over and so forth and then they discussed it together, you know, what to do with me. And the police come back to me and says, "Well, we better take you to city hall, and we're gonna do some more talking." So I got in the police car and they took me down to the city hall. And there they asked me a few questions. There was a girl that was working in the office that recognized me and knew who I was. So the officer came back to me and said that, "You know that girl over there? She recognized you and know your family." So then I finally admit that I was Japanese, and then they put me in jail.

[Interruption]

Q: Could you tell us what happened after, when you got to city hall after you were arrested? Continue.

FK: After I was arrested at the city hall, and after I admitted that I was Japanese, they sort of rushed around there. I don't know what they were talking about, but then they finally called a lieutenant, and the lieutenant came down, and he was mad that I was still there and not in the evacuation. 'Cause I guess it caused, then, more problems they didn't know what to do with. And so the only solution they had was to put me in jail until they decided what to do. And I remember it was... when I was in jail there, I remember it was Memorial Day, the 30th, and as I was lying in the cot there I was thinking what I did before on Memorial Day, having so much fun, and here I was in prison.

Q: Could you go back a little bit before your arrest. You know, while everybody was being evacuated, what gave you the confidence to stay behind and that you weren't going to get caught? Could you tell us some of the things that you did or what you were thinking of?

FK: Well, when I left the nursery and the family and got away from all this problem and everything, the chaos that's in the family. And looked around me, and, you know, I felt that, well, I'm free. That's what I've been doing all my life. Everybody was minding their own business, and you don't hear of all this, that there's a war on, and race hatred of Japanese and so forth unless you read the papers or listen to the radio, what's going on. But if you didn't have a radio or if you didn't bother to read the papers, I mean, it was just normal living outside. And so I just felt right into it. And since I didn't feel guilty, 'cause I don't think I did anything wrong. I'm not like a criminal, I didn't do any criminal, it wasn't a criminal act, you see. So therefore, I felt like I was just as good as anybody else, and that's the way I felt, because that's the way I've been feeling, that's what I was taught in school. You had equal rights, and you believe the Constitution and so forth. And you live by it, and that's what's soldiers died, for freedom. And I felt that way, and that's why I felt more comfortable on the outside, and I felt more comfortable when I went to work. Because it kept my mind away from all that, you know, and just concentrate on doing a good job.

Q: So did you make any other kinds of arrangements or anything now that you decide you were gonna stay behind, with the risk, you know?

FK: Well, what happened was I happened to overhear at work that the Japanese were all evacuated into camp. So I did buy a paper on the way back from work, and I saw the pictures where the Japanese were being, Japanese Americans were being marched into camp, you know, I saw the picture, and it sort of made me sick to my stomach. But that was the only time that I felt kind of lonely, you know, like, "What am I gonna do now?" I can see my parents going in, my brothers going into camp, and I'm not there. That was the only time that I felt sort of all alone.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 1983, 2010 Densho and Steven Okazaki. All Rights Reserved.