Densho Digital Archive - Ujinobu Niwa Interview (denshovh-nujinobu-01-0012)

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KL: The other topic from Manzanar is the so-called "loyalty questionnaire" that was distributed in 1943 asking people a whole bunch of questions, but about military service also. What was that like for your family? How did people respond to it, was there conversation, was it private?

UN: We had, my dad and our family got together to discuss this. And my father said that in Japanese mind, that we were not Japanese, that we were born, my mom and dad were Japanese, but to people in Japan, we're Americans. And that they would never, we would never be treated like Japanese, even if we went back to Japan. So he said, "You think about this." And so my brother and I talked it over and said, "Okay, we're gonna be loyal to America." And then my folks, both mom and dad said, "Where my kids are, that's where my heart is. We're gonna vote 'yes' too." So, but our family was so different from other people.

KL: In what way do you feel --

UN: We had neighbors, they come over to talk to me, says, "My dad just orders me that, to write 'no.'" They were forced to write "no-no." And when they were, the government came over to take them to Tule Lake, they grabbed my hands, and I could still feel that. They were put on the truck, and we were holding hands, and slowly the truck's moving away, and they just tore away, and they were gone. We didn't hear from them. It was very sad because we knew if the kids had their own way, they would be with us. So I'm glad that the government forgot all that and let the people back in that said "no-no," because I would say over half of them would have said "yes" if their parents said that's the way they wanted. But in the Oriental family, you don't cross your dad. Your dad, if your dad says something, that's it.

KL: It sounds almost like your parents, like you and your brother made the decision.

UN: Yeah, that's why we're so different. And that's why, like I said, we liked to qualify what we did.

KL: You responded that you'd like to qualify?

UN: Well, no.

KL: Oh, I see. I'm sorry. That you were so different.

UN: Yeah. Our family run was very different. Despite the fact that my dad comes from a very high family, he was very understanding.

KL: That's a powerful memory of those people leaving.

UN: Well, yeah. And I had friends that had straight-As in American school, and they went to Japan. They were put on Gripsholm and got exchanged for prisoner of war. And later on, after the government says you can go back, he came back. But he said, "My life is over. I can't go to UCLA now."

KL: When did he come back?

UN: After he was about... after the war ended, it took about five or six years afterwards. But you see, these people come back here. Maybe the parents stayed in Japan, I don't know what happened. But the government doesn't give you any money. They would ship you back, and just like when I left the camp, they gave me twenty-five dollars and a one-way ticket. Now, how far does twenty-five dollars go? So my father said, "Son, fifty dollars with two people will last a lot longer than one person with twenty-five dollars," so he's going to come with me. And so he applied, and he and I, well, the war was still going. We went to Milwaukee. And before that fifty dollar was spent, I had to find a job. So we didn't, we weren't choosy. Any kind of job that was offered, we took it. Going rate was like a dollar or a dollar and a quarter an hour, I worked for seventy-five cents an hour. But you're not gonna quibble.

KL: What was in Milwaukee?

UN: And so when these people came, were shipped back from Japan, they were just let go right into society. And so in West L.A., the United Methodist Church opened up their church and we used sheets for partitioning, and we let people live there until they found a job, and then they were able to move out. And the church tried to help the people get settled. And in many ways, I'm glad that the government did that, because the Japanese people aren't like the Indians. You know, the Indians are, in our country, they feel that things are so hopeless, that all they do is get drunk, and that's not right that they should waste their whole life just getting drunk. I feel so sorry for these people. It's very hard for them to get away from the reservation.