<Begin Segment 16>

KL: And then you worked in the mess hall? Which mess hall was that?

HF: The hospital kitchen. That's where I met my husband.

KL: Tell us about that. Was he sick or was he on the staff with you? How did you meet?

HF: I think he was a cook at that time. Because his father told him the best place to work is the kitchen, you could get all the food you want.

KL: What was your husband's name?

HF: Fred Susumu, S-U-S-U-M-U.

KL: And do you remember your first meeting, like how you caught each other's eye or how you talked?

HF: No, I don't remember. I never dwelt on that.

KL: How long... when do you think you met him?

HF: It was in January. Because he went to, he went on furlough. Because they put us all in camp, now they were short of workers, so he went to Idaho to pick potatoes.

KL: When did he do that?

HF: Then he went to Idaho with me, then he came back, he came back in December. So I met him in January.

KL: And then he was gone until, for... do you think he went like in that spring of 1943 to Idaho?

HF: When he... no, he went to Oregon in 1943.

KL: When he left the camp, were you already, when did you marry?

HF: We got married in camp, Reverend Nagatomi.

KL: When was that? When were you married?

HF: We got married August the 7th, 1943.

KL: So maybe eight months or so after you met?

HF: Yeah, I guess we met in January, so, right.

KL: And you said Reverend Nagatomi presided?

HF: Right.

KL: Where were you married? Where did the marriage ceremony take place?

HF: There was a Buddhist church, one of the barracks they converted to a church. And different denominations had different churches, too, different barracks.

KL: What do you recall of the ceremony?

HF: I don't recall anything.

KL: Did you have a party afterwards or anything?

HF: Yes, we did.

KL: Where was that?

HF: It was in, must have been one of the mess halls.

KL: Oh. How many people were there, do you think?

HF: There was quite a few, but I don't even remember who was there.

KL: I've heard a couple people talk in interviews about a honeymoon barrack? Do you know anything about...

HF: No, they didn't give us, we just went to our own, we had our own barrack at that time.

KL: Where was that?

HF: Block 34. I don't know, remember the address on that.

KL: I actually have it, we can look at it afterwards. I brought you copies of some of those records. But Block 34, you said. And the two of you by yourselves, that's kind of a switch from your whole family of eight.

HF: That's right.

KL: How was that?

HF: It was a switch.

KL: Did you miss all the people, or was it nice to have your own space?

HF: It was nice to have my own place. I could decorate the way I wanted it, you know.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.