Densho Digital Archive - Joe Seto Interview (denshovh-sjoe

<Begin Segment 11>

EB: When were you discharged from the army and what did you do after you left the MIS?

JS: I got discharged in December of '46. Since the war was winding down, and most of the servicemen were being discharged, those who were accepted at the university got an early discharge, and I applied for that, so I got an early discharge. So I served roughly eighteen months in the service. I got an early discharge to go back to Augsburg College. And I went back to Augsburg College for a year and then I transferred to the University of Minnesota where I graduated.

EB: And what studies did you pursue there?

JS: At the University of Minnesota? Biochemistry and microbiology. Let's see... Hugh, Tom, myself and Dave, four of us graduated from the University of Minnesota thanks to the GI Bill.

EB: And what sort of degrees and careers did they pursue?

JS: Well, Hugh majored in philosophy, Tom was in biochemistry, and I was in biochemistry/microbiology, and Dave, the youngest, is in physics.

EB: And so after you graduated from the University of Minnesota, where did you go next and what did you do?

JS: Well, it was very difficult to get a job. And so I went to Chicago and worked as a technician at the University of Chicago and then at the University of Illinois medical school. And then I realized that it wasn't a very gainful employment, I couldn't probably support myself. So I went back to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin. So my brother Tom and I, he got his PhD at the University of Minnesota in '57, and the same year I got my PhD at the University of Wisconsin.

EB: And then did you start teaching after that, or did you do research?

JS: Then I was employed by the Upjohn Company, and he was employed by Pfizer, a well-known pharmaceutical company. Then I didn't like working in the industry, so I came to Los Angeles and I did a post-doctoral here at UCLA with influenza viruses, for which I was doing research. And I've been at California State University since 1959. Retired in 1987, but I don't know if you remember, I still have my research lab and office, so I still go to the university as a retiree.

EB: Yeah, I think last time I was here in March, we were talking, and you were very excited to go into your office the next day and do some lab work or something like that.

JS: We had some critical experiment to do. And then a year ago, we were invited to an international influenza meeting in Berlin. Because as you know, I don't know if you're aware of the influenza interest nowadays.

EB: Yes, bird flu?

JS: Yes, avian influenza, possibility of a human pandemic. So I was invited to the international meeting in Berlin. I was one of the chairmen of the sessions.

EB: That looked interesting. When you came back to Los Angeles...

JS: In 1958.

EB: '58. And what area of Los Angeles did you settle in?

JS: Well, UCLA is right nearby. So then that's how I got involved in the church here.

EB: And that's how you met your wife, Grace. And remind me what year that you two married.

JS: '59.

EB: '59, okay. And you have two children, right?

JS: Yes, oh, you remember?

EB: Uh-huh. I actually listened to Grace's interview a few weeks ago, so it's a little fresh, but some items, some things were fresh and some were a little fuzzy. And I want to go back for just a second. Did your parents ever talk about camp after they left, or was that something that was not discussed in your family?

JS: No, we really didn't. We've never had much conversation about that.

EB: Okay.

JS: I think maybe it's because of their religious background. They try to take a positive outlook in life.