<Begin Segment 23>

RP: Now, have you ever returned to the site of some of these experiences that you had around Nyssa and Ontario?

TM: We have, yes.

AF: The camps are no longer there but we go back to visit our friends because that's where one of our best friends were there from, yes. And I feel to me that's a second, you know, the best memories I have growing up.

RP: Have you been to a pilgrimage at one of the other camps?

TM: Like --

RP: Minidoka?

TM: I've been to Minidoka, I've gone on a pilgrimage but I've also been there while, you know, during the war.

RP: So if your family hadn't gone out and volunteered to this sort of unique situation in Eastern Oregon, you would have ended up at Minidoka.

TM: Right, right, that's right, that's true.

AF: I had no desire to even visit, yes.

TM: Well, I thought... I had the opportunity to go visit and I thought well, it would be interesting to see what it was like.

RP: And as far as you know, there's never been any reunion of the tent city?

TM: No, no, we've never had a reunion.

RP: Roughly the numbers I've seen are somewhere around 400 Japanese Americans were sent there. I guess a final question. Based on your experiences during the wartime being removed and these upheavals and confusions going on in your life, do you have any advice or insights for young people today that you'd like to share with them?

TM: Well, I'd say that it's important to preserve your, you know, your legacy. And believe in what is always true in your heart.

AF: And be tolerant of other races and just remember what happened so it won't ever happen again.

RP: Kind of following up on that question, both of you were in your teenage years when this happened.

TM: Yes.

RP: And like you said, Taka, you were so kind of confused about what we needed to do we're at the assembly center we didn't really have to think about the injustice of it all.

TM: Right.

RP: But now you've kind of had years to reflect on it.

TM: Yes, time to think about it, right.

RP: So how would you look at it today, would you look at it differently? How does it look to you sixty-eight years later?

TM: Well, whether justice was served then... well, I think that, well, I'm kind of, I knew that what I know now that I didn't then is that it was the wrong thing, definitely.

AF: We probably weren't up on a lot of things. Because of the language barrier too our folks probably didn't talk about those kind of things.

TM: They were not the kind to make waves on any incidences that would...

RP: Is there any other stories or reminisces you'd like to share before we conclude our interview, something that we haven't touched on?

TM: I don't have any.

AF: But I'm thoroughly interested in this kind of history and I hope my kids can take from it and pass it on to their own kids.

RP: Well, on behalf of Mark and myself and the National Park Service, I want to thank you both so very much for your time to share your precious stories.

AF: You're welcome.

TM: Thank you very much.

AF: Thank you.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.