<Begin Segment 14>

MA: What about, like, civics or social studies? Do you remember those classes and...

BU: That one was a, that teacher, as I recall, was okay. Again, that was a haole teacher, she was all right.

MA: Was there ever any discussion about, I mean, about the internment itself?

BU: Oh, no. In camp?

MA: Or even among the students or...

BU: No. You know, we... none of us really -- well, I shouldn't say none of us -- most of my group, the ones I, my friends and all, we really didn't put that much thought about being bitter or doing anything about it. We just accepted it and did what we were told, didn't question it. It wasn't until later, until the next generation came along, and we're in college, and found out, hey, maybe that wasn't right. And then even our generation, later, it wasn't until the late '70s and '80s, until someone, some JACL chapters started getting involved and questioning it, created that, the study. But no, for a long time, I had questions, mixed feelings about the R&R, Redress and Reparations, whether that was a wise thing to do or not. And, 'course, I accepted it gracefully, you know, the reparations, and then through my experiences later on, too, I was, I joined a country club and I was only the second one to join, the second Japanese American to join. And so many of those people, members there, were not sympathetic to what happened to us. And the worst part about it is some of those people were the Italians. And because they were categorized in the same category as we were. They were, the Isseis, Italian Isseis and German Isseis were "enemy aliens." And they had to move out of Alameda just like the Japanese Isseis had to. And, but there were a few of those, they were good friends of mine, but we just differed in our opinion. And there's some of 'em that didn't think we deserved the reparation. In most of our cases, the people that received it probably didn't need it. The ones that did were all gone, they died like my mother and father, and neither of 'em lived long enough to get it, and they're the ones that really deserved it. So...

MA: Right, but at the time, I mean, in Topaz, you were young, a young kid, right? Just kind of going along.

BU: Oh, yeah. And young, and I, the worst part about camp for me and my education was I wasn't challenged. I was not required to do homework, as I recall. I wasn't really challenged enough, I wasn't prepared for the outside when I got back, in college, for college. That's my experience. Most of my contemporaries, my closest friends, all ended up pretty well, that were in the same group. But then again, I was one of the younger ones, I was sixteen when I graduated from Topaz High two years after I graduated junior high. And all I remember was having a lot of fun. And when I went to, got out and went to school, I was still having fun. Apparently I did well enough to transfer to Berkeley, but I just didn't apply myself. I know I was capable, but I just didn't apply myself after. I wasn't prepared, I got a bad three years of non-study. All, I got by because I picked up what I learned in class, but it wasn't because I was really pushed. My dad would help me in math, but I don't remember any kids my age sitting at home with the parents doing homework or anything like that. It was nonexistent. In most cases because of language; most Isseis couldn't help with U.S. history or government or anything like that. My mother could have helped me, but she didn't, for whatever reason, probably because I didn't want her to.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Topaz Museum. All Rights Reserved.