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DT: So is there a lesson that you want your grandchildren and great-grandchildren to know about the camps?

YK: There is. I want them to know that my parents and my husband's parents, all did their part in making the internment as positive an experience as they possibly could. My father felt like, like I told you, that America is at war and so they have to do these things to keep the country secure, and so we should follow along the best we can. My husband's father volunteered for the 442, ended up in MIS, translating documents from Japanese to English. And my husband's mother formed a federation of women at the Amache camp. And she felt like there were some things that men didn't understand, that only women could bring it up. And she organized the women to actually improve the conditions of the camp. So I felt very proud of her, too. And then there were the people who helped us on the outside, the white people. Like my teacher and my sister's teacher, too. So we had a lot of people helping us. In fact, my son married a Caucasian girl and her great-uncle happens to be Robert Fletcher, and he was the man who was an agriculture inspector at the time of the war. So he knew many of the Japanese farmers, and several Japanese families asked him if he could take care of their leased land until they got back. So he decided to do that and he even gave up his job as agriculture inspector to do this. And he made sure that the land was used properly and then the profits he got, he only took half of the profits and he put the rest in bank accounts for them. So when those people came back to Florin, they had their land. And I want them to know that it wasn't just the Japanese who were making our lives better, but that people on the outside were, too. There were some out there who were helping us.

DT: And do you worry, what you just said resonates, I feel, has a very big lesson for today, in what's happening today in this political climate. Do you... yeah I guess my question is, do you feel that that lesson is becoming more important or it's always just been...

YK: No, it's become very important. And while I'm working here at the museum, these young students come through and they'll ask me, "Can this happen again?" And I have to say, "Yes, it could." And we have to be watchful and we have to stand up when people are not being treated right, when immigrant groups are not being treated right. And so I feel like by my telling my story, they know that this really happened. Like the kids will tell me, "You're like a page out of history." [Laughs] So it's not something that is just written in a book, it's something that this museum brings to life and the kids know that it could happen again.

DT: Wow. And you're making that impact by sharing that story.

YK: I feel like I am. This is an important part of my life. I sort of feel like everything I've done has come together in this museum.

DT: That's great.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.