<Begin Segment 15>

FA: They did their thing, you did your thing. What are your feelings now about the Fair Play Committee and the draft resisters?

BK: Well, they certainly have a pretty good case now and pretty good support from people like you and the ACLU funding this thing so they can still tell their story. That's pretty important; that's part of the American way.

FA: Do you recall speaking to the newspaper reporters after the trial, I mean, after you left the courthouse? Do you remember what you said to them?

BK: No, I don't remember talking to 'em, but I see where I've been quoted quite a bit -- [Laughs] -- as a result of it.

FA: What were you quoted as saying?

BK: I was quoted as saying that the resisters were fascists and that they're no good to the country, and certainly were tearing down everything that I was trying to do. And at that time I think that was the normal reaction for me because my gosh, the publicity was terrible that was coming out about the trial and everything. And it was bad enough that the Bataan Death March in the Philippines was being headlined in the newspapers, the Japanese enemy doing those horrible things in the Death March and you know, everything was, there was so much going on at the time that it really made things worse as far as I was concerned. It came at a very bad time that they were tried, 'cause they would hardly have a chance to even be acquitted in the conditions of the war at that time.

FA: You were, like you say, you were quoted as saying these fellows were fascists and doing no good. Do you still, do you still believe that today?

BK: Well, I think it was pretty strong stuff. I wouldn't say that today. [Laughs] But at the time, being young and gung-ho you know, waving the flag, being patriotic as I was, I can understand why I said those things.

FA: Last question about the trial. I just, there's so little about the trial itself. What can you tell me about the atmosphere around the courthouse? You said seats were empty. What was the atmosphere around the trial?

BK: I didn't think there was that, seemed to me the thing was all so cut and dry to me that to me, you know, it didn't seem like to me the public wasn't interested in it whatever. And that's the way it seemed to me.

FA: There were no riots in the street?

BK: Oh, no, there wasn't anything like that. Of course, Cheyenne is a pretty small community compared to the West Coast.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 1998, 2005 Frank Abe and Densho. All Rights Reserved.