<Begin Segment 5>

EB: So how did you hear about Executive Order 9066?

JS: That was when the curfew was established, so that's when we heard about it.

EB: Okay. And how much time did your family have before reporting for relocation?

JS: I think about two weeks prior to that, we had a physical examination. And then one week before the date of departure, then we saw these posters all over the city saying that we had to report to the Union Station to board the train for the concentration camp.

EB: And what happened to your family's belongings?

JS: We stored them at the church, everything.

EB: Okay. And so I guess they were safe over the course of the war?

JS: No.

EB: No? Tell me about that.

JS: Well, the federal government was supposed to take care of our property, but to the best of my knowledge, one of the friends that I mentioned earlier, Ms. Whitney, and then I later learned that the family was, the Warren family, they had a wholesale dry goods business in Tacoma. And I understand that they kind of looked after the property and they had the keys to the church. But some things were stolen from the church during the war, I don't know how much, but I know we lost a few things.

EB: What happened to your house?

JS: We rented it.

EB: Okay, you rented it out?

JS: That was no problem because during World War II, the defense industry, there was a big shipyard in Tacoma. And there was a large influx of workers into Tacoma and they had no, the house, there was a housing shortage. So there was no problem renting the property. The problem was when my parents tried to return, because of rent control, it was difficult to evict the people renting it from my family. So they were delayed in getting back into the family home.

EB: How long was the delay?

JS: I think about three or four months, I'm not sure.

EB: Or did you have any pets?

JS: None at all.

EB: This is one story we hear a good bit, about pets.

JS: No, we didn't like cats or dogs.

EB: Okay. What did you take with you and how did you choose what to take?

JS: All I was allowed to take was my clothes, put it in a suitcase, which we were allowed about one or two suitcases per person, whatever we could carry, more or less.

EB: And what was the most difficult thing to leave behind?

JS: Well, actually, it was freedom. It was difficult to comprehend why I was placed in the concentration camp, being American citizens. That was the most difficult thing.

EB: Do you have an image, scene, or conversation in your mind that you can describe about leaving home for relocation? Is there something in particular about relocation that's still vivid in your mind?

JS: Well, I remember there was another house on our property, and it was a single parent, which we were very close to, obviously, they lived there for several years. And the night before we left, she told me that she would like to have me stay with them until I graduated high school. That was a wonderful gesture on her part. And the neighborhood boys went to the railroad station the day of our departure, and one of the neighbors drove my parents to the railroad station, whereas I walked to the railroad station.

EB: And how far was that from your house?

JS: I would say about eight blocks. The government didn't provide any transportation to the railroad station.

EB: And what day was that, that you relocated, or started the process?

JS: It was a weekday, that's all I remember. I don't remember the exact day.

EB: Okay. Did your family ever consider voluntary relocation?

JS: No, not at all. My third brother did.

EB: Can you tell me a little bit about that?

JS: He was attending the University of Washington at the time, which was thirty-five miles away. And before the restriction was placed, we couldn't travel, relocate east. The president of the University of Washington arranged for about twenty-five students to go to the University of Michigan, because the University of Washington president personally knew the University of Michigan president. But when they arrived, they found out the university could not allow them, there were about twenty-five Nisei that they continued, that they were not allowed to --

[Interruption]

JS: They were not allowed to enroll because during the wartime, the major universities had government officers training programs. And the explanation given is for security reasons, the Japanese students were not permitted to enroll. However, there are very few who were enrolled, primarily in graduate school, they were not affected.

EB: And this brother, what was his name again?

JS: Matthew, that was the third brother. Because my oldest brother, he graduated, and the second one was, he had to drop out of school to work in order to support the family.

EB: Did your parents give you any advice about this upcoming period in your life where they have a certain belief that helped prepare...

JS: No, not at all.

EB: Okay. And did you know where you were going, did you go to an assembly center first?

JS: We didn't know... we were completely in the dark.

EB: Okay.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2006 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.