<Begin Segment 7>

MA: And tell me about arriving to Tule Lake and your first impressions and sort of what you remember when you, I guess, stepped off the train or saw where you were going to be basically imprisoned for the next three years.

MY: Yeah, right. Didn't really know what to expect. But I had, when we landed there, I noticed the train tracks came right to the gate, and there was no tracks beyond. So that was odd, I thought. Either they built the camp with that in mind, or I don't know what. But anyway, that struck me. But then I saw friends from the college that had preceded, and they were all there to greet us, so that was a good feeling to know that there were some friends there. But there was so much blank spaces, I don't remember how, how we got from the train to the, to inside the gates. And we were issued, I remember being issued a bag that we were supposed to fill with straw. And then we got barrack assignments, and I don't know whether someone showed us where the barracks were, 'cause it's a massive place. I don't know how people would find where they belong. So there must have been some system set up, but I don't even remember.

MA: And you were sort of by yourself at that point.

MY: Right, right.

MA: Who did you stay with? Who did they place you with in your barracks?

MY: They had me assigned to a barrack with my father and my brother. And then Mona, my younger sister was, naturally, went with the Yokotas. And so they were in another barrack. And I don't even know how I found them, but I did.

MA: Had you been keeping in contact with your father during this time, I mean, when you were staying with the Yokotas?

MY: No. I didn't even, I knew he was in Vancouver running a strawberry ranch.

MA: Vancouver, Washington?

MY: Washington, uh-huh. And that's all I knew until I saw him in camp.

MA: Were you surprised when you saw that you would be, that they assigned you together, or were you sort of expecting to see him there?

MY: I wasn't expecting anything, actually. I didn't know what to expect. So I can't remember our meeting, even seeing him, I don't remember my reaction. So much blank... evidently, I must have blanked a lot of things out, because I was just talking to my son the other day and I said I just can't believe that a whole year went by and I can't, don't remember a single friend that I... I don't know what I did for that year. It's all gone. 'Cause he was asking, "Well, what did you do for a whole year? And I said, "I don't know. I just don't remember anything." I don't remember people. You'd think you'd develop a friendship along the way. I said, "I have high school friends I still keep in touch with, but it's really strange."

MA: So what are some of the things that you do recall about Tule Lake or that stand out to you?

MY: I just, the thing that stands out is the picture of the barracks, and that's about it, I guess. And the guard tower with the sentry standing there, 'cause the barrack I was in was close to a fence. I think we were close to the entrance fence, so there was a guard tower right there, so couldn't miss him. [Laughs]

MA: Yeah, it seemed like it was always present.

MY: Right over you, yeah. You walk out the door and there he is.

MA: What about your brother? You mentioned that he had polio. Was he still sort of sick?

MY: He, no, he was a little handicapped, which bothered him a lot. One leg was stiff, and one arm. But he's kept in touch with our father, and he was helping him on the strawberry ranch, evidently, at the time. So they went together. Then we all, one by one, I came out first and then our family gravitated out to Minnesota, so picked up a few pieces.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.