<Begin Segment 9>

TI: Okay. So, Harry, let's go back to your life now, and where we left it was right after high school, and you went to business college, and you did that for two and a half years. And then after that, what did you do?

HU: You see, she was able to come out of the camp when I was at Camp Savage.

TI: Well, before we go there, so you're, you finish business college, and then what did you do after business college?

HU: I went to help on the farm. Then the draft came, my number was twenty.

TI: And so you were drafted, or the draft card came out, you had a high number -- or a low number, I guess.

HU: Twenty.

TI: Twenty. And so you were drafted. And this was about February 1941?

HU: [Nods].

TI: Okay, so this is before the war, February 1941, you're drafted. And so what happened next?

HU: The regiment moved up to Kiska, and we were left behind. There were about fifteen Nisei left behind. Later, we joined the infantry division at Fort Ord.

TI: Okay, so let's go through this a little slower. So you were drafted, and let's first talk about your initial training. Where did you do your training first? In the first, like, nine weeks or so, you do training, where was that?

HU: Rifle range. And the study about the big guns. So I tell you, it was an unusual sight. The people we trained with, basic training, they all went. Camp was empty except for these fifteen Niseis.

TI: And so this happened after the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

HU: No, no.

TI: Even before.

HU: Before. They didn't want to take us up for that, because we were close to Japan. Didn't want injury within our armed forces by mistake. That was a good thought. So we got into infantry, some more training. Then came the Pearl Harbor.

TI: Okay. So before the war, they separated all the Niseis from the artillery and sent them over to infantry.

HU: Yeah.

TI: And did they ever tell you why they did that?

HU: No. They said, "We're close to Japan at Kiska. And we don't want to have any mistake within our armed forces that you might be a Japanese soldier."

TI: And then after that, you then had the bombing at Pearl Harbor, after they said that?

HU: Yeah. That night, we came in about two miles from the beach. The next morning we got up, we went back to the barrack, had a breakfast, get on the bus. The bus started going up north of... all along the coast. And we ended up, first night, at Half Moon Bay. Waited, waited. Then I was asked, "You leave this regiment and you go to San Jose. You can go there and wait." They already are planning something to do with the Japanese GIs. I waited there, oh, at least two weeks, three weeks, he said, "Get on the truck."

TI: And before you go there, how many other Niseis were there waiting with you? Do you remember if there were other Niseis waiting with you?

HU: Well, I was the only one in Santa Rosa. But those, the other people had gathered a little town south of San Jose. There was a great big shed for onion. [Laughs] We waited and waited, then said, "Get on the truck, get on the train."

[Interruption]

TI: And how many went with you from San Jose...

HU: Oh, there must have been about three or four hundred Niseis scattered all over United States in bits in these small groups. Some went to Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas, they didn't know what to do with us. Meantime, they were making an effort to have a school. They formed a school, Presidio San Francisco. That was the beginning of a Japanese language school. And they moved to Camp Savage here. So one morning, said, "Get on the bus, get on the train." We backed up over here at Fort Snelling, said, "Get off the train, get on the truck." We ended up at Camp Savage. That's the way it went. All Niseis, I tell you.

TI: And Harry, I want to ask you, did they ever ask you whether or not you would be willing to join the MIS? Did they give you like a test or anything like that?

HU: I heard every one of 'em had approval by FBI. That's the rumor I heard. That's how they picked. They didn't go to... they had some reason why we were there, that we have a clear record. For thirty days, we were restricted to the camp. After thirty days, the cityfolks had prepared for Nisei soldiers in Camp Savage. We were received very well, they were friendly. I don't know of any incident where the police were involved, not one. I'll never forget the first day we got on the bus and we went to downtown Minneapolis. We ended up at Nicolette and Washington Avenue. As we get off, we see a bar. We stepped into the bar, we wanted to have a cold drink. And the bartender said, "No Indians. We can't serve Indians." We said, "Whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute." We explained who we are, we had a cold drink. [Laughs] The bartender, congratulations for serving U.S. Army.

TI: So you went into this bar, the bartender says, "We don't serve Indians," because he thought you might be Indian, and you told him that you weren't Indian and that you were Japanese?

HU: He thought we were Indians.

TI: Right. But then he served you because you told him that you were not Indians, right?

HU: Yeah. He was so proud, so proud that the Japanese Americans being in uniform and served the United States. That's the kind of reception we received, where we understand each other. We found many, many people here in Minneapolis, they were friendly.

TI: And so Harry, I want to ask about your brothers. So after you went to Camp Savage, what happened to your brothers?

HU: They were in the internment camp.

TI: Do you know which camp they went to?

HU: Arkansas.

TI: Okay. Were you able to communicate with your brothers?

HU: Yes. But we weren't allowed to go to California to visit or observe what's happening. For that, we received the grant.

TI: I'm sorry, you received the what?

HU: You know, we had forty dollars each (...) for reparation?

TI: Oh, I see what you're saying, okay, right. Okay.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.