<Begin Segment 6>

KL: So did you graduate from high school in Seattle or were you a senior?

SS: Well, actually, I did... I was a senior. June is graduation, right? In April we were forced to move out. So we got, I guess I got credit for high school, and in camp they sent us the diplomas.

KL: I was gonna ask if there was, if you were awarded a diploma later in life, but your high school sent them to you in camp. Do you remember, do you have memories of hearing the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

SS: We were at home; we heard it on the radio.

KL: What was everyone's reaction?

SS: Shock and fear, because it was Japan, it was my parents' home country. Why in the world would they do a thing like that? It was a shock to us.

KL: They were surprised. And what did -- oh, go ahead.

SS: Then we were afraid, too.

KL: You were afraid for your... what were you afraid for?

SS: Because it's Japan and we're Japanese, you know, my parents are from Japan, and we're Japanese. We're American, but we're Japanese also, you know, to everybody else.

KL: You were worried about your safety?

SS: Just the fear not knowing.

KL: I'm sure it was scary to have family, and family that you knew personally in Japan, too.

SS: Yes.

KL: Did things change for you immediately after the attack?

SS: In what sense?

KL: Was anything different at school or different with...

SS: Not at school, but noticed that the Chinese were starting to wear a sign saying, "I'm Chinese." They didn't want to be mistaken for Japanese in case they might do something to them because they looked Japanese.

KL: Were these Chinese kids in school?

SS: They were friends.

KL: Did you have conversations with them about...

SS: No, I don't remember if we did or not. But they were fearful, too, because they didn't want to be Japanese. If they were Japanese, something might happen to them.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.