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EK: Could you talk a little bit more about who you worked with? It sounds like you had a variety of roles. So why don't we start maybe with things that led to the '92 amendments or regulatory changes? Were there people inside the department or in the community that you recall working with?

TC: I think it was both. It was within the department, and at that point the administrator was Bob Bratt, and I think Paul Suddes came on shortly thereafter as the deputy administrator. And they were always pushing to get the non-Japanese spouses eligible, and the communities also wanted the non-Japanese spouses eligible. And we had submitted the proposed bill to Congress. We worked closely with individuals from the Office of Legislative Affairs, and I know the attorney at the time was Faith Burton. We had a few hearings on the Hill and then Congress ended up passing that.

EK: And when there were hearings on the Hill, do you recall who was representing the department?

TC: Probably Faith Burton from Office of Legislative Affairs.

EK: And what about with respect to when something was in litigation? How did that work within the department? You talked about the '92 amendment's creating this...

TC: Oh, well, that just clarified that if people wanted to file a lawsuit, then it made the U.S. Court of Federal Claims so there would be one venue for that. That was just establishing the process.

EK: Was there always an appeal process within the department?

TC: Yes, there was an administrative appeal process, that was part of the initial regulations for an administrative appeal that went to the appellate section, and they did a de novo review.

EK: So what are some of the groups... actually, let's zoom out a little bit. What, in your recollection, were some of the program highlights in terms of successes that you felt like you and the department helped?

TC: Well, one thing was just the enormous outreach efforts. I mean, there were close relationships with the Japanese American community, there were three major groups we worked with, one was the JACL, Japanese American Citizens League; one was NCRR, the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations; and one was NCJAR which was the National Council for JA Redress. We worked closely with them, we worked with local community groups, churches, schools, they were just fabulous. I mean, there was such a wonderful relationship, and there were workshops going out to meet the people. And we would go a few times a month, primarily to the West Coast. But I remember trips to Chicago and New York also to meet eligible people. And the Civil Liberties Act was quite unique in a federal claims program in that the attorney general was given the legal obligation to identify and locate eligible claimants instead of making them apply to us. So because of that unique statutory mandate, there were just enormous efforts to meet the JA community. There were radio announcements, media, I believe initially Bob Bratt did some television interviews, and there was just so much, and it was just a wonderful caring group that really supported the program, and so everyone worked well together.

EK: Were you involved with some of the first check presentation ceremonies?

TC: No, because I came a few months after that. I came in early 1991, and the first check ceremony was October 1990.

EK: So as a result of the first check presentation ceremonies, were you aware of the program before you joined it or were you not?

TC: I was aware of the history. I mean, we learned about it in school, so I knew about the history of the program. And then when I saw the job opening and then I did research and found out about the Civil Liberties Act, and I went out and bought a copy of the commission report, the Personal Justice Denied, and had read all that. But I was aware of the internment program, period.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2019 Emi Kuboyama. All Rights Reserved.