<Begin Segment 10>

FO: There was great emotion at the time, obviously, for sure. Well, when we were representing Wakayama, our office was on Third and Spring. Courthouse was up on Temple, just three blocks away. When I would walk down the street and people would see me coming, they would cross the street, a lot of 'em. Or I remember one instance, they couldn't, the signal wasn't right, so they had to walk past me and I heard 'em under their breath talking, "traitor," "Jap-lover," that sort of thing. So there was great emotion, great fear.

Male voice: The JACL, we've learned when we were in Salt Lake City, at one point offered and suggested that Japanese Americans form suicide squads in the military to prove their loyalty.

FO: Well, I don't know about that. I do know, having read, that the JACL lobbied very, and successfully, from their point of view, to get the Japanese accepted into the army. And I guess it was their idea, the JACL's idea. Might have even been Mike, although Mike was in 442nd, so I don't know whose idea it was, to have a segregated unit. I mean, it was, "We're going to show them," and by God, they received great praise for the work that they did. But there were a lot of Japanese in other places, not only, there were many Japanese in the service, not in 442nd. But I don't remember about the "suicide squads." [Laughs] It's bad enough to be under fire without inviting it.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 1995, 2005 Frank Abe and Densho. All Rights Reserved.