<Begin Segment 20>

RP: This is tape three of a continuing oral history interview with John Nakada. And, John, can you share with us a little bit of your life after camp? You went to college and just kind of give us a brief kind of synopsis of what you did after got back to Azusa.

JN: Well, when I got back to Azusa I finished high school there at Citrus. And then I worked on the farm with my father and then I got drafted in the army. And I volunteered for Korea but they sent me to Alaska. 'Cause I wanted to go to Korea... at that time I wanted to go to Japan so I said, send me to Korea. I said, they're right in the middle of the war and they didn't send me there. They sent me to Alaska, crazy. So I was in Anchorage, Alaska, for two years in the army and I was drafted. I didn't join the army, I was drafted.

RP: Why didn't you join?

JN: Huh?

RP: Why didn't you join the Army?

JN: Well, I think I was peace oriented and I was against all war. And so they drafted me and that's the way it goes. That make sense?

RP: And then you got the GI bill and decided --

JN: Yeah, I had the GI bill so when I got out and my brother talked me into going to college. So I went to college, got a degree in mechanical engineering at University of Nevada, Reno. See, my grades were too poor to go to a cheap California school so I couldn't go to University of California, UCLA or Cal or anyplace like that. So I had to go to out of state school so that's where I got my degree. And then I worked in a whole bunch of other jobs. I worked as a mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer and then civil engineer. So I got tired of working in the aerospace industry because I only worked for two years for every job because as soon as the contract was over they lay you off. So I was in the LA area and I got tired of commuting so that's why I went up to Bend, Oregon, and got the job there with the forest service.

RP: Tell us about what you did for the forest service.

JN: Well, I was a civil engineer and so we did construction projects, we built roads and trails and buildings, stuff like that. So basically that's what I did and they had what they call a Redmond air center which is what the fire people use to fight fires. So we took care of all the buildings there, we took care of the recreation centers, areas. But I'd like to talk about the best part of my job. Since was skier and I knew all about chair lifts and everything, I was what they call a tramway engineer, and so I inspected chair lifts all over Oregon and Washington. And so, and every time they have a new chair lift I would inspect that to make sure it was built right and so in the wintertime I would inspect these different areas to make sure they were operating correctly. So I would, like in Bend, you know, of course it's Mount Bachelor and so I would go up there and inspect to see if they were operating correctly and so I would inspect the lifts and check their maintenance schedule and make sure they are operating correctly because most of those areas are on forest service land. And so the public could sue not only the area but they can sue the forest service if it's not operating correctly. So that's why we had to manage that part of the operation. So that's what I did was I managed it and make sure their maintenance records were correct. So after I finish, you know, maintaining all that I got to ski free. So I got paid by the forest service to do my job and I got to ski free. [Laughs] Now how many people can say that?

RP: Now that sounds like a government scam to me.

JN: That's really good and so I went to all the different ski areas in Oregon and Washington that were on forest service land and so I skied all the areas in Oregon and Washington. And then I also had to go to you know, since I did this quite a bit, well, they thought I was pretty good so they had me train people in California and other states to do what I'm doing. So that part of it was good. But that was just a percentage of my job. But that was the best part of my job.

RP: While you were at the forest service you also got involved with promoting civil rights within the organization?

JN: No it was pretty good, like I was with a civil rights organization there and so I promoted that and I also told them about my experience in the camp and so they accepted it pretty good. And I think the forest service is real good at that.

RP: And so did you go to other areas promoting diversity?

JN: No, just in Oregon and Washington, we didn't go outside of the area.

RP: But you were able to definitely to draw on your own experiences in sharing that with folks you were addressing.

JN: Yeah.

RP: So your camp experience had a real profound effect on your life.

JN: Yeah, I think so, I think it really made a big difference. And I think meeting other people of different ethnic... directly I think really made an impact on my life. 'Cause I really didn't have any experience with African Americans and I didn't have any experience with the Native Americans, the Indians. That was the first time I even talked to 'em. So I learned a lot about our culture and how different it is and how many problems they have with their, you know, nationality. But I think that their main focus was to accept the person for what he is, not what he looks like, 'cause if the whole world would do that we wouldn't even have any wars. Look at Israel and Ireland and England, my goodness, if they would accept the person just for what he is... and the Muslims and the Americans, I mean, it's crazy. But that's just my own personal idea.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.