<Begin Segment 24>

YM: While, after I found a job, finally found a job, I had an appendicitis attack. And I didn't know where I should be going, so I called Miss Swanson, Virginia Swanson who was with the Baptist Union, and she made arrangements for me to go to Midway Hospital and have surgery. Dr. George Earl was my surgeon, who eventually happened to be the surgeon for my dad as well, years later. Anyway, at that time, my landlady, or the homeowner, told me, "Guess who called?" And I said, "Who?" She says, "Herb." I said, "Herb who?" I was kind of rolling around, stomach problem. She said, "Your brother." And he was in, as far as I was concerned, he was in Lincoln, Nebraska. She says, "He just came in to Minneapolis, Sanford Hall, University of Minnesota engineering course, ASTP." So he came over. And so when I went into the hospital, I had escort from my brother, Herb, who was in his army uniform, and Virginia Swanson, Ms. Swanson. So they escorted me into the hospital.

TI: So it worked out really well. Your brother came just in time.

YM: He came, it's just amazing how things worked out. And he came just in time. He says, "You have any money?" I said, "No." [Laughs] He says, "I'll give you thirty-five bucks." I still owe him the thirty-five dollars. He's gone now, so I don't have to pay, I guess. But anyway, after the surgery, after the surgery while I was in the hospital, we had, all the nurses in that area, curiosity got the best of them. I had a really wonderful nurse by the name of Marian Lindberg, and she was really a nice person. She happened to be, she told me she was with the Baptist church. But Marian Lindberg was my nurse, and word got around that I was there. I had ice water changed every fifteen minutes, so that my roommate, person by the name of Barnes... matter of fact, he was happy because he met a nurse there by the name of Hoyt, Nurse Hoyt, and they got along pretty good so my roommate was happy. So we were treated royally.

TI: And so what was it that...

YM: Midway Hospital in St. Paul.

TI: Yeah, but why did the nurses, all the nurses want to come by? You said you were...

YM: Because there was an "alien" there. [Laughs] Because they heard that I was there, and I was not a Scandinavian.

TI: Oh, because you were different. You were Japanese American, they were just curious.

YM: We were somebody at war. And the publicity again, of course, all that.

TI: Did people ever confuse you with the enemy? Did they think that you were, like, the Japanese side versus being an American?

YM: I don't know how they felt. I think they were all just curious what I look like, or who am I and so forth. They found out that I got along with everybody. And I don't think I... the nurses were really nice, so why complain? So that was my, my hospital visit. But it worked out real good, I'd say.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.