<Begin Segment 4>

FC: How did you answer questions 27 and 28? 1943.

DK: Let's see. How was the question...

FC: Are you willing to serve in the [pause] are you willing to serve in the United States Army, defend the, or defend, serve in the service and defend the United States against all enemies, is 27. 28, are you willing to renounce your, any loyalty you may have to the emperor of Japan?

DK: I, the questionnaire, questions 27 and 28 were very confusing so I answered with a qualification. I answered my questions qualifying the answer.

FC: How did you qualify it?

DK: We would be willing to serve in the armed, armed forces of the United States provided they return our constitutional rights and return us, my parents and my sister, back to where I, I have a home, and I will comply with the selective service.

FC: How educated were you at that, when you went into camp? How much college did you have...

DK: Well, I had, I just lacked a quarter of, quarter of schoolwork to graduate.

FC: From university or college or...

DK: College. University of San Jose.

FC: Say that in one sentence: "I was one quarter away from graduating from University of..." San Jose State?

DK: Yeah, I lacked one quarter's work from graduating San Jose State.

FC: Did you feel you understood the Constitution of the United States when you went into camp?

[Interruption]

DK: No. I had a, I believe I had a good understanding of the Constitution in that in my grammar school, we had a ethnic teacher, and she was really versed on the Constitution and she made us memorize the Constitution forwards and backwards. So I had a pretty good knowledge of the Constitution.

FC: Can you still recite the Preamble?

DK: I used to be able, but I can't do it offhand. [Laughs]

FA: Dave, when you -- back to Heart Mountain, you received your... well, let me back up. Let me ask you again. I still don't understand, when did you first become aware of the draft resistance movement in Heart Mountain? You said you heard about it, when you read about it in the Sentinel, you knew right away you weren't gonna do it.

DK: Right.

FA: Cooperate. Were you gonna do it alone?

DK: I was going to do it alone if it came down to that. I was going to resist that by myself if need be.

FA: But then what happened that got you linked up with others?

DK: Well, when I first heard about the draft being instituted in camp, I heard about this lawyer, Mr. Okamoto, who was going to work with the Civil Liberties Union in our behalf. So I looked up Mr. Okamoto and asked him his question and he, at that time, said he was going to organize this Fair Play Committee. So, gee, I said I'd appreciate that very much.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 1993, 2005 Frank Abe and Densho. All Rights Reserved.