<Begin Segment 13>

RP: Now, there was a situation where you actually went outside the camp. You went to the base of the mountains? And...

FN: Oh yeah. That's... we were digging the ditches for the water supply for the camp.

RP: Was that the original water line that came into the camp, do you know?

FN: No.

RP: It was later on.

FN: It's over at... it's a creek from the mountain there so it's pure water. So the camp, it wasn't, I don't think it was just, just plain water. Soft, it's a really soft water. You took a shower and boy, the soap came off good. It's nothing hard like out here. It's just pure mountain water. Ice cold.

RP: And you used to see trout in the water.

FN: Oh, yeah. We used to see trout and used to round up and catch 'em but we never did kill 'em or anything. We just had the fun of catching them because we had no way of cooking them or anything. So, I mean, you were having fun on the job.

RP: You, and you caught 'em by hand?

FN: Yeah. Oh, there's three or four of us guys. You cornered the trout. Poor guy, trout never had a chance. We'd catch him but we never killed him or anything. We just let him loose. But you kind of make fun on the job you got.

RP: Did you, did you have any contact with any of the military police who manned the guard towers or the...

FN: No, I never had contact with them but people that wanted to go outside just for a walk or something, they crawled under the fence but military guy, they didn't care. Hell, if you want to go try to escape, High Sierras on one side so they didn't care. I mean, they were just there. They didn't care if you wanted to sneak away from there, you have to climb the big Sierra mountains. Heck, nobody'll make it.

RP: How did you feel about seeing the guard towers and the barbed wire fence? You mentioned earlier that you felt the government mistrusted you.

FN: Oh, yeah.

RP: You were suspicious and you felt like an "enemy alien."

FN: Yeah.

RP: Was that feeling increased by the guard towers and in the sense of being a prisoner?

FN: No. You were having too much fun with the other guys player poker and you know, baseball and stuff like that so you never felt too cramped in when you're having fun like that.

RP: Yeah, you, I was trying to remember, I think you guys donated the glove that you used to play with, right?

FN: Oh, yeah.

RP: Yeah. Yeah, you played first base because you had a --

FN: Yeah, uh-huh.

RP: -- kind of trapper's glove.

FN: Yeah, uh-huh.

RP: So was that a team in your block that you played on?

FN: No, it's a pickup team but I was, I have that glove so I always was a first baseman.

RP: That was a group of guys your age roughly?

FN: Yeah. I guess so. Yeah.

RP: So, so softball, was it softball or...

FN: Hardball.

RP: Hardball.

FN: Uh-huh.

RP: So that was a...

FN: And, oh and softball too I mean... So I played all. It didn't matter whether softball or hardball, you just, as long as you're playing baseball you just played.

RP: Did you play any other sports in Manzanar besides baseball?

FN: Well, we played touch football.

RP: Out in the firebreaks?

FN: Yeah. So, I mean, you touch football, you, we had no equipment or anything so we didn't do any tackling. But we had a handkerchief or something on the belt and they, they take that and then you're tackled or... then they touch you with two hands you're down.

RP: Uh-huh. Uh, there were, you were, you were Nisei and there were, there was another group of Japanese Americans, Kibeis --

FN: Kibeis, yes.

RP: -- at the camp. And how did you relate or not relate with them?

FN: Well, they had their own group and we had our own group and Kibeis, they thought they were pretty good. And we knew we were pretty good so we never got associated with one another.

RP: How about the, did you, were you aware of some of the tensions and issues between the Japanese Americans Citizens League and some of the other groups in camp?

FN: No, not that I know of. I never associated with them that much and they'd mind their own business we did ours too so we never had any... well, I don't know whether we or I never had any problems.

RP: Were you involved at all with the JACL before you went to Manzanar? Were you aware of the organization?

FN: Yeah, I think I was in the JACL for a short time. And, I don't know, I just quit.

RP: Before the, before you went to Manzanar?

FN: Oh, yeah.

RP: Uh-huh.

FN: Even before the war came out I think.

RP: What did you think of that organization?

FN: Oh, I don't know why I joined or anything. I don't know what it was all about. They supposed to look after Japanese people but, or something, I don't know. I don't really don't know what it was all about. But I just joined just to be with the friends.

RP: As a social group.

FN: Yeah.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright &copy; 2011 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.