<Begin Segment 7>

KO: So you stayed in Denver for two or three years?

RO: Yeah, 'til they allowed us to come back. We came back the first chance we could get. We came back December '44. The war ended in June '45, so we came back about six months before most everyone came back.

KO: That was awful brave of your father.

RO: Yeah, we drove that pickup from Denver to San Jose. We put all of our belongings in the back of the pickup and drove to San Jose.

KO: How long did that take?

RO: God, it must have taken us about three or four days, I guess.

KO: Do you --

RO: We got stuck in the Sierras, I know, 'cause my dad ran through some water and the spark plugs got wet, and we got stalled up there and some hakujin helped us.

KO: So that was kind of a memorable trip back.

RO: Yeah, I remember that 'cause it was kind of cold.

KO: That was December or January, then.

RO: December of '44.

KO: There was, there was snow on the ground?

RO: Yeah. We came through the Sierras.

KO: So when you came back to San Jose, you came back to your house? That the McKennas had kept --

RO: Yeah, the people had moved out. We had tenants in there and they moved out. They knew we were coming back, so they had vacated the house, so we moved into the house.

KO: And you were the first family back into San Jose?

RO: In downtown San Jose, we were the first. I think the Takedas in Alviso were, they were early also. That's the only two families I know of.

KO: And what kind of reception did you receive when you came back?

RO: Lot of animosity. I didn't really care to go to school, but my dad forced me to go to school.

KO: Do you remember any specific incidences at school that were uncomfortable for you?

RO: Well, children tend to mimic their parents, so you get, you'll get a lot of animosity, because Japan was not too popular at that time, and you get a lot of people who call you that three-letter-word, "Jap."

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.