<Begin Segment 5>

EK: So I wanted to move on to some personal reflections. What, having worked so many years on this program, what were your biggest takeaways from that experience?

AK: I think I was amazed that administratively, we could do such a good job. I think we really did an excellent job. Checks went out quickly, as quickly as we could possibly crank them out. We were deep in the business of identifying people, and it was the Justice Department's responsibility to find the people, not to have them apply. We were doing that within days of getting the responsibility for the program. It took a lot of years to get it all done, but it was pretty miraculous and a testament to what the government can do right.

EK: Do you think a program like this could happen today or be established in today's environment?

AK: If the underlying question is compensation for slaves, that would be very different. I think a lot of the administrative procedures could apply, a lot of the efficiencies we achieved could apply, but it would be so much larger and so much more complex that it would be a new thing.

EK: Alice, could you talk a little bit about your involvement with the community outreach efforts?

AK: From the very beginning, we were working with the various organizations, with JACL and NCRR, and some other individuals who weren't necessarily parts of those organizations, but came forward to the Justice Department, we met. And I think we had excellent relationships, and they were so incredibly helpful and so incredibly sharing, and led us to all kinds of things we would have maybe come across on our own, but wouldn't naturally have thought about. The plight of the railroad workers would be one of those things. But very early on, Bob and I met Jack and Aiko, he had made contact. He and I went over to their apartment, which was in Arlington, and Aiko had a big piece of wire, barbed wire from the camp, in the living room on a table. But they had been so involved in the legislation and had done so much research. They were a constant source of information, very, very, very helpful.

EK: And this is Jack and Aiko Herzig.

AK: Yeah, but others were, too.

EK: Were there any other instances where your conversation with the Japanese American community or community organization might have spurred you to learn more about an issue or about a location?

AK: Well, sure, yeah. I went on any number of outreach visits and spoke to groups and so forth and so on. And one thing that I remember getting from them was the situation of the soldiers, the guys who had gone into the army, and they would be on leave and want to go visit mom in camp, and there was a lot of red tape involved. And because they described that situation, we started looking at their potential eligibility. And so quite a few of those guys who had never been interned became eligible.

EK: Were there any other instances that you can recall at this point where that was the case?

AK: That's the one that leaps to mind, but it was very enjoyable meeting them and talking to them and getting their points of view. I know once in a group conversation, where they were talking to each other as well as to me, they were saying and kind of agreeing that for children in camp, life was generally pretty good. It was like being at summer camp all the time, you were there with your friends right next door and doing things together. And then for the old people, it was kind of a safety net, that they seemed to feel comfortable there because they were right with their families and their community, and they knew they were cared for. But it was the ones who were adults, who were yanked out of their working life and lost their homes, lost their jobs, lost their savings.

EK: Were you involved with those first check presentation ceremonies?

AK: No.

EK: No, okay.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2019 Emi Kuboyama. All Rights Reserved.