Densho Digital Archive - Jiro Sugidono Interview (denshovh-sjiro-01-0014)

<Begin Segment 14>

TI: Now, did you hear any incidences of, like, the police picking up Isseis because they were on the wrong side of Main Street, or picking up people because of the curfew?

JS: No. I know, being Japanese, when they're told to do something, they do it. Because otherwise, it's just like my, my kids, they're Sansei, they ask, "Hey Dad, how come you didn't do anything? (Yes), you got thrown in like this, why didn't you do something? How come you didn't fight?" Well, I told 'em, "How could we? We got our father and mother there, and (yes), they're Isseis. If worst become worst, they might even send them back to Japan, see." And so what the heck, so I don't think there was any incident of Nisei making trouble. 'Cause it's not like what those other nationalities did when they start burning the city, this and that, well, the Japanese people, they didn't do anything like that. So maybe that's why the Sansei even like you, you probably kind of question that. We should have done something.

TI: No, I had the same conversation with my father. This was, this was a while back, though, maybe thirty years ago I talked to him about that.

JS: But gee, I don't know. When you think about your folks, what you gonna do? If you make it worse for them, they might send 'em back or do something worse. On top of that, my father -- I don't know if my wife showed you that -- he was ready to get drafted in World War I, 'cause he has a card, but somehow he didn't go. Maybe the war was over or what. But so actually, he, to me, he didn't seem to be against joining the army or anything like that, 'cause he didn't say that he would go back to Japan or anything like that.