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KN: And then from Fresno we went to Jerome, Arkansas.

RP: Did you know where you were going? Did...

KN: Oh yeah. They told us we were going to Arkansas.

RP: What did you think about that?

KN: Where's that? [Laughs] Never heard of Jerome, Arkansas. But it's a long ride. Three nights, four days it took us to get there. We keep stoppin' every little town on the way.

RP: And you came through the state of Texas.

KN: Yeah, San Antonio, Texas, my brother was in Fort Sam Houston and he heard that every other day a train full of Japanese people were going by so he thought he'd better take a look and he went to the station. He was watching and then, watching to see if he knew somebody that was going on the train. And a friend of mine was in the first car and he, nosy old Tosh, he looked out and he saw my brother standing there. "Hey, Roy, your sister's in the last car." So my brother was watching so I saw him. I told him I'm going to Arkansas. So he got a pass and he came to see us couple of days later, to Jerome, Arkansas. He was in Fort Sam Houston.

RP: You guys got to just talk and wave and...

KN: Yeah, wave and I told him I'm going to Jerome, Arkansas. Okay, so he got a pass the next day. He came a couple days later.

RP: Just after you got into camp?

KN: Yeah.

RP: Yeah.

KN: Right after we got into camp he got a pass to go to Jerome from Fort Sam Houston and he came to see us.

RP: And when he came to see you, what was his reaction to...

KN: "Where is this?" But then, you know, there's nothing you can do. We're in a bunch of barracks.

RP: 'Cause he's fighting for, for your country.

KN: Yeah. He's fighting for our country and his family is in a concentration camp. And then after Fort Sam Houston, he got, shipped in some camp in New Jersey and after that he went to Utah, I mean Europe.

RP: Oh.

KN: To...

RP: He went and fought in Europe, Italy, France.

KN: Yeah, yeah.

RP: So he was a member of the 442?

KN: Yeah, he was in the 442. And as all those Japanese guys got drafted, they got shipped to Italy, they're all 442nd.

RP: Do you, after Roy got drafted before the war started, do you know where he went?

KN: Camp Roberts, and Camp San Luis Obispo, and Fort Lewis, Washington, and then Texas.

RP: And then Fort Sam Houston.

KN: Yeah.

RP: And...

KN: From there he got shipped to New Jersey and then to Italy. He got moved around a lot.

RP: On your train trip to Arkansas, did you also have soldiers in the cars?

KN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

RP: Were they black soldiers?

KN: Mostly, but not all. Some are white. But the black soldiers were nice. They sat by me and then he talked and then he was real... and then we stopped on the way, way I don't know where, to stretch our legs. And a bunch of hakujin kids out there, they're wonderin' where... "Where you from?" We told 'em California. "Where's California at?" They didn't know where California was. They just wanted to know what the heck, who are we. Coming off the train just to stretch our legs. He says, "Where's California at?" He didn't know where California was.

RP: So do you know where you stopped to stretch your legs? Was it in the South?

KN: Yeah, uh-huh. We were, just didn't know where we were. We just, just for a few minutes just stretch our legs. And then right back into the train and kept going. And then we slowed down in Fort Worth, Texas. And then my brother heard that the Japanese, a bunch of Japanese on the train are going by so he was at the station just watching to see if he knew anybody. And my friend was in the first car. "Hey Roy, you're sister's in the last car." So I saw him then and then I told him we were going to Jerome, Arkansas, so two days later he got a pass and he came to see us and Jerome, Arkansas, he looked at it, "What is this?" A bunch of barracks, nothing.

RP: That must have been exciting to see him though.

KN: Yeah, yeah. I didn't see him since he'd gotten drafted.

RP: A long time.

KN: Yeah, he went to Camp Roberts, Camp San Luis. And then he got in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He got moved around a lot.

RP: Right.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright &copy; 2011 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.