<Begin Segment 14>

KL: So you came back to the U.S. with your husband? Was he living in San Francisco?

MS: No, he came back first. Yeah, he couldn't stay because he had to work.

KL: Was he in San Francisco, did you say?

MS: No, he was in Oregon. No... I don't know where he was. Was it in Oregon? I forgot. Yeah, I think it was. I got mixed up. Yeah, he was in Oregon. And then I hve to wait for the result, and everything was okay. And so I came over here, and then we got married in American embassy, and they gave us all the certificate and everything.

KL: Were you married in the American embassy in Tokyo?

MS: No, in here.

KL: Oh. In Oregon?

MS: No, no, in Tokyo. You have to get married over there and then get the papers and everything, and then come on United States.

KL: And you came to Oregon?

MS: Yeah, so I have all these, whatever you call, have certificate, everything, anyway.

KL: Did you and your husband talk about Crystal City and Minidoka and your father's arrest?

MS: Sometimes, not all the time. Yeah, we used to once in a while.

KL: Did you find things that were similar about your experiences?

MS: No, it's different. It was different. Because, see, we couldn't go out from the camp, but they could do that to do some work and then come back again. But we coudln't do that, that was a different... and I don't think they have a, because he never mentioned it, but a swimming pool and the schooling, I don't know how they did. So it might be a little different.

KL: Was he your age?

MS: No, he was about six years older than myself.

KL: And you said he was in Minidoka for three years.

MS: Three years.

KL: Did he come back to Oregon right away?

MS: I think he did. He did, yeah? Did they stay... they went to Beaverton? Beaverton, right. They went to Beaverton. You know the place, where was the place they were now? They had a flat. So I guess they lost everything. They had a kind of rough time, too, with the flat and everything, and a large family. That was kind of sad, too.

KL: Where did you two live?

MS: After we got married? In Portland. It was in the south, you know, by Brookline school, southeast?

KL: I don't, but other people from Portland will.

MS: Oh, I'm sorry. Southeast, yeah. Lived with mother-in-law, she was there alone, too. Yeah, and my sister-in-law and her hsuband lives around, not too far either. And older brothers, California, Seattle, and what is it, Michigan, and I think Ann Arbor? Where's... oh, boy.

KL: That's okay.

MS: There's one...

KL: Did you work when you came to Oregon?

MS: No, I was just a...

KL: Were you guys, were you or your husband especially involved in any of the hearings in Congress or the redress movement to get an apology from the --

MS: Oh, yes, I got a letter apologizing from President Clinton?

KL: Bush.

MS: No, Clinton. What is the first name?

KL: Bill?

MS: Yeah. And I got five thousand compensation, and my husband, Joe, he got twenty thousand, and I think we're still fighting to get the fifteen, the leftover, but I don't think we're going to get it because the government don't have money either. And I wanted to do something good, and so I bought Joey with the five thousand dollar... what do you call that?

Off camera: [Inaudible].

MS: Yeah. Just keep as a memory, the money I used for that.

KL: How did you feel when you got the letter and the check?

MS: It was nice, I was happy. A very nice letter. I still have it at home. But I think we've got to forget about the fifteen, the leftover. I don't think we can do it. That's okay, I'm happy.

KL: Have you talked to anyone else, any students or anyone about your experiences in World War II?

MS: Students? Friends, neighbors, yes. They told us, I get a newsletter from headquarters in California, we have headquarters, they were people who were in a concentration camp, and they send us about three times a year, and they told us to tell the American people what happened. That's the one I got you...

KL: What's the name of that organization?

MS: Oh, I forgot. I got the name somewhere, yeah, it's in California. We get it every year.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.