<Begin Segment 11>

KL: Some of the people who were on the advisory commission we've talked about already, and others I had notes to ask you about. So let me just read the names, and if you don't know them or didn't interact with them, that's fine. But starting with, there were two chairs, the first chair was Sue Kunitomi Embrey. You've mentioned her in connection to the pilgrimages.

ER: Outstanding person. She's just one of the great leaders of that organization.

KL: Did you have much interaction with her, or what stands out?

ER: I had no interaction with any of these people after the advisory committee got functioning. But all my experience with the ones I know was prior to their getting on board.

KL: I've read the minutes, or not the minutes, I've read the transcript of the first meeting of the advisory commission where they elect a chair, and it's immediate and unanimous it's going to be Sue Embrey. Can you talk about why that was from your...

ER: Doesn't surprise me at all. [Laughs] Because she was certainly a leader. Sue Embrey and Rose Ochi are the two women that really stood out in my mind as been the real strength of that whole pilgrimage concept.

KL: What roles did they each play?

ER: Well, they seemed to be, seemed like they had the officership in the internment committee. They were... I'm not sure what the elected officials were, but they were the ones that were the backbone of getting it going and keeping it up.

KL: Of the Manzanar Committee?

ER: Well, yeah, of everything related to the pilgrimages, and then they moved into that. And they were the ones that did the lobbying and all that. So I don't know that I have enough memory to feed more on that. But Sue, she was obviously a natural on that committee, the advisory committee.

KL: And then this was in later years, Rose Ochi did become the chair later when Sue wasn't able to do it anymore.

ER: And that doesn't surprise me at all; she certainly deserved that.

KL: Any other specific memories of Rose's personality or motivations?

ER: No. I found her very intelligent, very... and she had a good way, a good lobbyist, and good person, having good opinions and being able to present them very effectively. Most of those women I just can't say anything less than highest praise for both of them. They were champions on that committee.

KL: Bill Michael of the Eastern California Museum was vice chair the whole time.

ER: Excellent. I really enjoyed working with him. All the years I was in Death Valley, we had a relationship, and I think his involvement in Manzanar was outstanding, and he certainly deserved the role he got there.

KL: Can you talk a little bit about what his involvement with Manzanar was before the advisory commission?

ER: Well, being the director of the museum, in Independence they have a big collection there on Manzanar. So it was an obvious tie-in for him.

KL: Keith Bright, who was supervisor?

ER: Yeah. He's... I don't remember much about Keith Bright in relationship to Manzanar, but he was a very effective supervisor, one who had very strong opinions, and was well-respected even in Washington. I recall once when I was in the office of Congressman Jerry Lewis, a Republican who was first against Manzanar -- or I'm sorry, against the (California) Desert Protection Act, and voted to have just one dollar to fund Mojave. I was in his office saying, "Well, here's maybe a different approach we should look at for Death Valley and the (California) Desert Protection Act." He said, "Ed, let me get Keith Bright on the phone and see what he says about this." So there was a congressman that wasn't going to say anything to me until he talked to Keith. And so he was that kind of person. He was a very strong personality, but a very likeable individual. Did you get to meet him? He's passed away now, I assume.

KL: His granddaughter works at Manzanar as a ranger. So I never met him, but I know her pretty well.

ER: Is that right? Okay.

KL: Martha Davis of the Mono Lake Committee?

ER: I've met her but I just don't remember her enough to comment on that.

KL: Ron Izumita we've talked about already.

ER: Yes.

KL: Gann Matsuda, who was connected to student groups in Southern California?

ER: Yeah. Right now I kind of recognize the name, but I don't think I knew him very well, personally. Maybe I met him.

KL: Vernon Miller, who was an Owens Valley Paiute community member.

ER: I remember meeting him, but I don't know him well enough to comment.

KL: Mas Okui we've talked about a bit.

ER: Oh, yeah.

KL: Anything else you want to add about Mas?

ER: No, he was just a delight to walk through the area, the town site, the community site, and hear his stories about playing under the barracks when he was kid and all. I think he was a great asset to have someone like that, background on the advisory board.

KL: Dennis Otsuji we've talked about at some length. Glenn Singley, Department of Water and Power?

ER: I remember... it seemed like he was a very positive person, but I don't remember... it's appropriate to get somebody from Water and Power on that committee, I mean, there's, you get the stakeholders. It was essential to have somebody from them, that he would have been a good choice.

KL: Richard Stewart.

ER: I got to attend a couple sessions where he was there, and there's another stakeholder that was a good, good representative of the Native Americans to be on the committee. I enjoyed him and his talent in pottery. [Laughs]

KL: [Addressing AL] Anything else you want to...

AL: I have a question. Pete Merritt, I've seen in the files that he nominated himself or was nominated to be on the Manzanar Advisory Commission. And obviously being Ralph Merritt's son, had a strong connection. And I was curious if you knew why, anything about the deliberations about whether or not Pete Merritt would be part of it.

ER: I don't remember that, but Pete was, we got to know Pete personally. He's just the salt of the earth, great guy. And we've walked with him, in fact, I think the one hike that Mas took us to the area, the rubber plant factory and the camouflage factory, I think Merritt was with us there. But we got to be good friends. You've got a copy of his book, you probably sell his book, do you not, there at Manzanar? But he was, he was great. His father was, it sounds like, a really neat person to be in charge of that camp.

AL: But you don't know why he wasn't selected?

ER: I have no idea. Because Ross and I came up with names, and we had no involvement beyond that. And I guess I'd forgotten that he wasn't selected then. See, I guess I didn't, I remember the big long list of names, and certainly he merited being on that list.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.