<Begin Segment 4>

AI: Okay, now I'm going to use you in this next segment for prewar experiences. So this is a time when you were between ages sixteen to twenty-eight, approximately. Dave, when and where were you born?

DT: This is a very interesting story. They said that I was born in August 18th, in San Francisco, 1913, but my dad used to tell me that I was born in Japan. And sure enough, one day I found a diary, his diary, and it said "March the 31st, 1913, Masaharu, born." Well, if that's the case, I was born in Japan. And I still to my -- I'm sorry that I didn't question my dad more on the details of the thing, but, so actually, there was a picture, my sister had a picture of my grandmother carrying me from Japan to the United States. And so there's evidence that we were, I was born in Japan. But you see, I was more or less recorded as born in San Francisco on August 16th. And so I have a citizenship from August of 1913. And then the very strange thing is the, on the birth certificate, it says, "Admitted to San Francisco on March the 15th of 1913" on the back side, signed immigration officer. I can't understand that, why that would be there, but it says, "Admitted to San Francisco" -- and I wasn't born 'til March the 31st -- "March 15th." It's a crazy thing. And then on top of that, the birth certificate, if you turn it over, it says, "Sex of child: mail," M-A-I-L. [Laughs] So I was a fast mail.

AI: So you get two birthday celebrations every year. [Laughs]

DT: Yeah, but I use March the 31st.

AI: Okay, so that's your official one.

DT: Yeah.

AI: Okay.

DT: Although to get social security, I had to wait 'til August.

AI: Huh, okay. Well, that is a very interesting story.

DT: Oh, it is. It's odd.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.