COMMISSION ON WARTIME RELOCATION AND INTERNMENT OF CIVILIANS

I am John Masayoshi Kanda, residing at _________, Sumner, Washington, 98390. I am a Family Physician here in Sumner. I am 56 years old.

On Dec. 7, 1941, I was a junior at the Auburn High School, Auburn, Washington, some seven miles from my present residence. My father, Masaji, was a produce buyer for the Western Produce shipping firm in Auburn. My mother, Kikuno, and my only brother, George, had just started to operate an eight acre, leased, truck farm in 1939. My younger sister Betty and I helped on the farm. The farm was located betweeen Auburn and Kent, some eleven miles from my present residence. My parents were Issei ages 53 and 51, my brother was age 22 and my sister age 15.

We felt as a family prior to the evacuation notice, that our Issei parents could be evacuated, but not the Nisei, unless they may have been too young to care for themselves. So it was an anguished surprise when Executive Order 9066 was posted.

We had very little time to prepare to leave for camp, probably two to three weeks.

We were able to sell a new Chevrolet sedan back to the dealership. But the 2 ton truck, all the farm implements, the irrigating system, the greenhouses and the hotbeds, the furnitures and appliances in the house, along with canned foods, live poultry, rabbits, dogs and cats, but most costly, the farm produce which was within weeks of being ready for harvesting, e.g. lettuce had to be left behind for a sum of approximately $385 to the three Filipino farm hands that worked on the farm, living in a small cabin adjacent to the barn. A receipt was written for the $385, but no itemized list was made as to what was sold for that sum. Therefore, during the evacuation claims act, we did not receive the 10% claim on the recorded losses, since not one of the three Filipino farmers that took over the farm at that time could be found to submit a deposition as to what was included in the payment. The lease money was paid by my parents to Mrs. Smith, the widow landowner, before we left the farm for destination unknown.

We were only allowed to take what we could carry, therefore, these things included only personal clothing, a few personalhygeine and health incidentals.

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We were placed on a fairly dirty, old passenger train at the Auburn East Railroad station. With curtains drawn, with soldiers guarding, taken on a two day trip to the Pinedale Assembly Center, near Fresno, California. A camp with not a blade of grass or a tree, dusty, hot, andsmelly from the outdoor latrines for the camp population of about 5,000. Slept on straw-filled mattress cover on canvas army cots. After 4 months at Pinedale, we were placed again on a train, ending up at the Tule Lake Camp, California, just south of :the Oregon border.

I worked as a "fireman" at the Block dining hall in Pinedale, starting and keeping the wood and coal fired kitchen ranges going from about 4:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with another fellow, for $8.00 per month. We did play some softball after the evening coolness set in. I also did some carvings on scrap white pine. In Tule Lake, before my Senior high school year began, I worked for a period of time helping haul sheetrocks to partion off the barrack rooms (one side only), and later loaded Mt. Lassen cinder onto dump trucks, several miles away from camp for the camp roads. I also help harvest the potatoe crop during the fall. These all paid the minimum unskilled wage of $8.00 per month.

The living condition in the camps were crowded, primitive, and without any privacy. Our next door neighbor, a Mrs. N., was psychotic, and kept repeating the words "NO, NO, NO, NO" over and over again. Since there were no ceilings or sheetrock or lumber to the ceiling, it was most disturbing and upsetting not only to our family, but also to the other occupants of the same barracks. And to even imagine the devastation to the other three members of the N. family, who had to live in that 20 x 20 feet room, a central coal pot-bellied stove, 5 cots with mattresses. Meals were taken at a central dining hall. The laundry room, the combined showers and toilet facilities were in .the central portion of the "block" while the "Recreation Room" was a corner barrack without any partitions. Tule Lake was cold in the winter, and quite warm in the Summers. Tule grass and sagebrush were within the camp area, to give some greeness at times, but desolate.

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The internment in these camps certainly affected the family life-style. It was not too long after arrival, that families were not sitting down for their meals together. Nearly everyone worked at some job to earn monies needed for clothes, personal care items. and any luxury as candies, cigarettes, etc. that a person desired.

I being a Senior in the "Tri-State High School", where the classes were

held in barrack classrooms with benches, blackboard and a teacher's desk only, I feel strongly that I was denied comprable education as compared to others not in such an internment camp. I could not take second year German, which created a foreign language requirement deficiency when I later entered college. I took physics and chemistry, without a laboratory, not knowing an erlenmyer flask from a beaker. I had no idea what a pipette looked like, nor what a bunsen burner looked like. There were no textbooks in many of classes, and

none to take home to study in any classes. The instructors were all trying hard, and I give them much credit for making something almost impossible, bearable. There were a few accredited teachers-Caucasians. Many of the male Caucasian teachers were service draft consciencious objecters. Most of the teachers were internees thems, most with college degree in the field that they taught. I did graduate as one of the only graduating class of the Tri­State High School, since Tule lake became a detention center, and the school was discontinued.

The psychological crisis of the loyalty questionnaire of all citizen or non-citizen residents of the internment camp caused even more family break-ups. I cannot believe that any responsible person or persons could author such a questionnaire, especially questions #27 and #28. The Issei, if they answered both questions "yes" would be in essence a person without a country. At the same time if a Nisei answered the same question "no", he was in effect denouncing his United States citizenship. The pre-school and the grade school age children were the most afftected of the camp residents, and then they did not have a vote.

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Our family did stick together, my father feeling that the United States of American was his adopted home, even though the United States Congress had denied him citizenship. Thus, we were shipped out to the Minidoka internment camp in September of 1943.

I was inducted into the United States Army, shortly after arriving to

Minidoka, but was placed on the active reserve list for a period of time. During this time, I drove a dump truck, hauling gravel and sand for a short period of time, then went out to Mesa, Idaho, to harvest apples on a temporary work leave. The crop was poor, the earnings were nil, but my most memorable incidence took place as I developed an infected left lower molars while at this work camp. Because my work leave permit only allowed me to stay within Ada County, in which Mesa was situated, I could not go to any town or city with a dentist, but rather walk seven miles north to Council, Idaho, the county seat for Ada county, where a physician said that he could only pull the two molars for me, which he proceeded to do. After the apple harvest, I returned to the Minidoka camp and worked on the weekly Minidoka Irrigator for a number of months as the Soldier News and Sports Editor, for which I received a professional wages of $19 per month. I was called to Active Duty in late spring 1944.

I trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi as replacement for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, as a machine gunner. I was sent overseas together with my only brother in the fall of 1944, to join the "Go For Broke" 442nd R.C.T., immediately after their rescue of the Texas (36th Division) Lost Battalion, Bruyeres, France. I served in three campaigns--Rhineland, Northern Appenines and the Po Valley. I was initially a first scout, later squad leader and prior to return to the United States, a platoon sargeant. I had the honor of parading in Washington, D.C. with the Regimental Combat Team colors for President Harry S. Truman prior to my discharge at Fort Meade, Maryland. My parents and the remainder of the family had relocated back to the Kent,Washington area by thethis time.

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entered the University of Washington in Seattle as a freshman 1n September 1946. I worked by way through the University, taking on jobs, usually two at a time, including the likes of jewelry store stock clerk, College Club page boy, weekend greenhouse employee, summertime truck farm or gardener's help employee. I graduated with a B.A. degree in Zoology in 1950.

I entered the Saint Louis University, School of Medicine in September, 1950. With assistance from the G.I. Bill, I moonlighted as an extern at 3 different St. Louis Hospitals, delivered Christmas mail, was a member of the Medical ROTC program, and worked on a truck farm or for a gardener as his help, to graduate with a M.D. degree in June, 1954.

My father had taken ill after arriving in Minidoka, the diagnosis was that of "Pott's Disease" or tuberculosis of the cervical spines. A civilian consultation and initiation of therapy was needed in Boise, Idaho by this time, but money was short, so an 18 year insurance policy on myself was cashed in to obtain this consultation and the tailored neck brace which was recommended. My father had numerous Xrays taken since returning to the Puget Sound area. On one of these routine visits, a change was detected in his chest Xray and he was sent to Firland's Tuberculosis Sanatorium, in North Seattle, where he languished for nearly four years, to die a month after my graduation from the Medical School. The autopsy showed no active tuberculosis but rather a disease called amyloidosis, a condition that he could have spent at home as his life ebbed. I do feel that the initial Pott's disease was contacted in the camps.

I have had some rejections from the majority public, especially in searching for a home when I first started practice in Sumner. The incarceration has made me quite a bit more aware that the Constitution of the United States cannot be taken as granted, that one must ever be vigilant to see that equality and rights of individuals and ethnic groups, need be actively protected by those outside of Congress as well as the Congress itself.

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I hve given great thought to an adequate compensation for the years spent in the internment camps by myself, and other members of my family. Realistically I feel that the compensation must be made on the basis of time spent in these camps. The money should go to the person having been incarcerated or his or her heirs. If no heirs can be found, if the living person who had been incarcerated so chooses, the money can be placed in a Trust, to be used to assist Japanese communities in the United States, to care for their elderly and the sick, to build cultural centers or memorial libraries, etc. I do favor a direct compensation, and what the receipient does with his money is his own business. Some type of compensation should be formulated for those West Coast residents that left voluntarily prior to the evacuation order, and sustained monetary and property loss during the move.

I am enclosing a two page summary of my activities that was written up for another occasion recently. It might give a little more depth to my testimony above.

Respectfully submitted,

[Signed]

John Masayoshi Kanda
Sumner, Washington 98390

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JOHN MASAYOSHI KANDA

BORN 55 YRS. AGO IN SEATTLE, RAISED IN AUBURN, RESIDENT OF SUMNER, WA. PAST 25 YRS. MARRIED 26 YRS. TO GRACE YURIKO OSHIMA, DAUGHTERS--PHYLLIS MIDORI (22) AND JEAN RISA (17). FATHER DIED IN '80. A BROTHER AND 3 SISTERS LIVING WITHIN 30 MILES.

AGE 16 WHEN EVACUATED OUT OF AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL TO PINEDALE ASSEMBLY CAMP, CALIF. MAY '42. DID NOT FINISH OUT JR. YEAR. WORKED STROKING DINING HALL COAL COOKING RANGE @ $8/MO.

SENT TO TULE LAKE, CALIF., INTERNMENT CAMP JUST SOUTH OF OREGON BORDER, SEPT. '42. GRADUATED FROM "TRI-STATE HIGH SCHOOL", A CAMP SCHOOL WITH NO LAB EQUIPMENTS FOR SCIENCE COURSES, NO TEXTBOOKS FOR SOME OF THE COURSES, BUT OVER ALL A CREDITABLE SCHOOL IN JULY '43. SERVED AND ENJOYED POSITION OF INTERIM SCOUTMASTER FOR TROOP 452, AT AGE 17. PLAYED SOFTBALL, BASKETBALL, & FOOTBALL IN YOUTH LEAGUES. WORKED HAULING SHEETROCKS TO FINISH THE TAR PAPER BARRACKS AND MT. LASSEN CINDERS FOR THE CAMP STREETS IN TULE LAKE INTERNMENT CAMP.

FAMILY WAS SENT TO MINIDOKA INTERNMENT CAMP IN SEPT. '43. WORKED IN APPLE ORCHARDS IN MESA, IDAHO AND ONION FIELDS OF MARSHING, OREGON, PLUS DRIVING A COAL DUMP TRUCK AND AS SPORTS & SOLDIER NEWS EDITOR FOR THE WEEKLY MINIDOKA IRRIGATOR", WHILE AWAITING INDUCTION INTO ARMY. LATTER JOB PAID $19 PER MONTH AS A PROFESSIONAL, THE SAME AS A PHYSICIAN OR DENTIST RECEIVED.

CALLED TO ACTIVE ARMY DUTY JUNE '44, TRAINED FOR 17 W'EEKS AS A MACHINE GUNNER AT CAMP SHELBY, MISSISSIPPI, AS REPLACEMENT FOR THE 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT UNIT (GO-FOR-BROKE) UNIT. FURLOUGHED IN AUG. '44 TO VISIT THE FAMILY IN MINIDOKA. LEFT NEW YORK CITY ON THE "QUEEN MARY" ARRIVING IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND 5 DAYS LATER. TROOP TRAIN TO SOUTHHAMPTON, ENGLAND AND ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL TO LE HARVE, FRANCE. TRUCKED TO EAST OF EPINAL, FRANCE TO JOIN THE 442ND R.C.T. IN BRUYERES, HOURS AFTER THEIR GALLANT RESCUE OF THE TEXAS "LOST BATTALION". ASSIGNED TO A RIFLE SQUAD IN L COMPANY AS A 1ST SCOUT. PARTICIPATED IN THE RHINELAND, NORTHERN APPENINES & PO VALLEY CAMPAIGNS. RECEIVED 1 OF OVER 5,200 BRONZE STARS AWARDED TO THE 442ND R.C.T. OBTAINED 3 MONTHS OF COLLEGE CREDIT ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY TRAINING COMMAND IN FLORENCE, ITALY, DURING THE SUMMER OF '45.

RETURNED TO THE U.S.A. ON THE VICTORY SHIP WHICH WAS LATER RENAMED FOR PFC SADAO MUNEMORI, THE ONLY NISEI CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR AWARDEE, POSTHUMOUSLY, MARCHED FOR PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN DOWN CONSTITUTION AVENUE IN JULY, '46. THE 442ND R.C.T. RECEIVED THEIR 7TH PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION ON THAT DATE. I LEFT THE SERVICE AS A PLATOON (TECHNICAL) SARGEANT.

ENTERED THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEPT. '46 AND GRADUATED CUM LAUDE IN JUNE '50, WITH A B.A. DEGREE. MEMBER OF THE PRE-MEDICAL HONORARY, ALPHA EPSILON DELTA. PRESIDENT '49-'50

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OF THE SYNKOA HOUSE, THE FORMER JAPANESE AMERICAN STUDENTS CLUB, THE SYNKOA NAME BEING DERIVED FROM THE 1ST INITIAL OF THE LAST NAME OF THE 15 OR SO FORMER MEMBERS KILLED IN ACTION. WORKED MY WAY THROUGH THE U. OF W. AS A PART TIME JEWELRY STORE STOCK CLERK AND COLLEGE CLUB PAGE-BOY DURING THE AFTERNOONS & EVENINGS, WEEKEND GREENHOUSE WORKER AND SUMMER TIME TRUCK FARM EMPLOYEE. CHARTER MEMBER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS CLUB, U. OF W. SCHOLARSHIPS TO NIKKEI.

GRADUATED FROM THE ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE WITH A M.D. DEGREE, JUNE '54. WAS 1 OF 2 NON-CATHOLICS IN A CLASS OF 128, ALL OF WHICH WERE MALE. MEMBER OF THE PHI RHO SIGMA MEDICAL FRATERNITY HOUSE. SUPPLEMENTED THE G.I. BILL BY WORKING AS AN EXTERN AT TWO ST. LOUIS HOSPITALS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE MEDICAL SCHOOL, JOINING THE MEDICAL R.O.T.C. PROGRAM, AND DELIVERING MAIL FROM A NEIGHBORHOOD BRANCH POST OFFICE DURING THE CHRISTMAS BREAK. ALSO WORKED THE SUMMER MONTHS AS A TRUCK FARM LABORER OR GARDENER'S HELP.

A ROTATING INTERNSHIP & GENERAL RESIDENCY AT THE TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY HOSPITAL '54-'56. STARTED A SOLO MEDICAL PRACTICE IN SUMNER, JULY '56. PRESENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUMNER FAMILY PHYSICIANS, P.S., A FOUR PHYSICIAN OFFICE. ALSO PRESIDENT OF THE KANDA ENTERPRISES, INC. WITH RENTALS TO THE SUMNER FAMILY PHYSICIANS, P.S., A DENTAL OFFICE, A MEDICAL LABORATORY, AND AN ADJACENT RENTAL HOME. WAS PRESIDENT OF THE MEDICAL STAFF OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL, PUYALLUP, WA., '64. PRESENTLY CHRM. OF THE OBSTETRICS COMMITTEE AND MEMBER OF EXECUTIVE, CONTINUED MEDICAL EDUCATION, BY LAWS, & LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEES. MEMBER OF G.S.H. BOARD OF GOVERNORS '74-'80. PRESIDENT OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF PIERCE CO. '73, PRESENTLY CHRM. URBAN HEALTH INITIATIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE COMM. & MEDICAL ADVISOR TO THE CLOVER PARK TECH. SCHOOL "MEDICAL OFFICE ASS'T COURSE". MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIAN SINCE '61 AND A CHARTERED FELLOW IN THE A.A.F.P. SINCE '74. ON THE MEDICAL SERVICE COMM. OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS. MEMBER OF THE WASHINGTON STATE MEDICAL ASSOC. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE. SUMNER ROTARY PRESIDENT 1971. PAUL HARRIS FELLOW '78.

PAST PRESIDENT PUYALLUP VALLEY CHAPTER, JAPANESE AMEIRCAN CITIZENS LEAGUE '58. PAST PACIFIC N.W. DISTRICT CHAIRMAN, J.A.C.L. '63-'65. NAT'L J.A.C.L. 3RD V. PRESIDENT '68-'70. PRESENTLY CHRM. COMMUNITY REPARATION HEARING COMM., BY LAWS COMM. MEMBER 1000 CLUB 26 YEARS.

LOCAL DRAFT BOARD #13 MEMBER '61-'66. AND MEDICAL ADVISER TO DRAFT BOARD #13, '66-'71. BOARD CHRM. BANK OF SUMNER '77-80, BOARD MEMBER BANK OF SUMNER '77 TO PRESENT. RECEIPIENT TACOMA URBAN LEAGUE ETHNIC MINORITY SERVICE PLAQUE '80. TRUSTEE SUMNER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH '81. HOBBIES: MUSHROOMING, SALMON FISHING, GARDENING, STAMPS & ATTENDING MEETINGS.