<Begin Segment 17>

KL: We're back here after just a real quick break, and Min, the only other things I really wanted to ask you are kind of what we were talking about, your family, so this is perfect. What are things from your life that you, either important lessons that you've learned or just things that you kind of would like to pass on to other people whose experiences have been different?

MY: Well, only thing I could say is the, we hear, even today we hear about all the troubles, especially in other countries now, because American involvement in the, first Iraq and then Afghanistan and American soldiers is fighting that terrorism and whatnot, the... I kind of realize that the war, what the war could do to the average people and disrupt their lives, so this, I know some of those people in Afghanistan and those areas are experiencing, and now Egypt and all those areas that're having problems, when you think about the average person, average families, they are suffering. And I wish someday all those troubles go away. I know it might be difficult things to do because everybody have different opinions and religious belief and political belief and everything else, but just my hope -- because my experience as a child, childhood time, and even today, we never had a chance to all member of families live in the same land, and whenever we want to see, even living far distance, we'd hop on airplanes or bring them together for Thanksgiving dinners or holiday dinners, we've never been able to do that. And I hope someday this peace comes for everybody that could do that. Of course, once you have a war, anything can happen. We look back and, "Hey, this was our mistake. I'm sorry." But the war does all those things, so we should erase the, these war things out of the face of our earth. I mean, that's my hope. Someday in the future, I don't know, maybe a hundred years from now or fifty years from now, we don't have any more of that problem. That's all I could say, because all those troubles that we went through, I know the people, Japanese people who had to go in camp and then going through all the hardship, and then on the other hand, we relocated to Japan. Our freedom may not be disrupted, we had the freedom living in Japan, not like living in a certain area that would, with a guard watching over your shoulder and watch your movement. We never had that, living in Japan. However, we had difficult times, and I wish we didn't have to do that.

KL: Is there anything else you want to add, things I haven't asked about that you wanted to share? Is there anything, any other, anything that I did not ask about that you wanted to talk about?

MY: Well, as far as my living here today, I'm kind of glad that my mom and dad had me here in this country. I mean, of course I love Japan, and the modern Japan is good, fantastic. They have good food and high, the bullet trains, high technologies to everything. But I still pick this country over that. I love it. I like it, and I'm glad that my roots finally establishing here. And now I'm glad that, personally, I was able to send all my three girls to a good college and they have a good job, so that's all I wanted. So I think, because we're here in this country, I was able to do that. I truly believe that. Then I appreciate the, not only my uncle, but, Uncle Hiroshi -- he's the one that really got us going here. Otherwise, that would not be possible. Also, people help me, other than Uncle, the people help me, American people as well as Japanese friends, American people, friends from Bellingham, Washington, those two Japanese families, Watanabe families in Chicago, helped me. Without their help, I wouldn't be here today. That's all I can say, so I really appreciate them.

KL: Well, we really, really appreciate your being part of the oral history project at Manzanar. It's been an honor to talk to you. Thank you so much.

MY: I hope I stated my experience understandable to other people who might want to hear me.

KL: Yeah. I'd say you did. [Laughs] Thank you very much.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.