<Begin Segment 10>

RP: Did, what were your first impressions when you got to Puyallup and saw what the government had established there as a camp?

KO: My first impression, everything was disorganized. I went to the restroom, or latrine, and it smelled like a horse stall or whatever you want to call it. It was. Underneath the grandstand, and it really stunk. You know how they could smell. We were fortunate, we didn't stay under the grandstands. We were out in the open area within the confines of the inner, what do you say, the racetrack itself? The inner circle. So we were in wooden shacks, all in one room.

RP: Oh, all of you were in room?

KO: I think we had two. My grandma and my uncle had one small unit.

RP: Yeah, Shig was telling us yesterday that there were, the camp was set up into different areas, like Area A, B and C.

KO: Yes, I was in Area D. The big one.

RP: Oh, D.

KO: Yeah, that's where they had the grandstand and the horse racetrack, and things.

RP: I think early on there was restrictions as to, you know, that you had to have a special pass to go from one area to another. They were very strict about going...

KO: And most of the other people wanted to come to our area, from A, B, C, 'cause they were in the, they were in the smaller areas, and the main area was Area D. But it was very boring. I remember curfew time, bedtime. They had selected certain people to be the authorities, or to police, self-governing type things. Some of these, a couple of 'em, they really tried to exercise it 'cause they had a authority for the first time. But they, you know, it's alright. We all cooperated. We as, in our Japanese culture, I guess we did not rebel or anything, we went along with the flow. Of course, we had no choice.

RP: How did you pass the time in Puyallup? What did you do to keep your mind busy?

KO: Well, ran around with friends, people I knew, we just ran around and did things together. That's all I remember. Maybe played catch if we wanted to, or try to occupy our time, that's really what it is. Instead of sitting there grumbling, it didn't help.

RP: So did you find that you began to gravitate more to your group of friends than your family?

KO: Yes, yes. You're talking about family life, I think at that point, started disappearing. We no longer had it.

RP: You ate with your friends.

KO: Yup. It became important to establish that bond.

RP: Were you conscious of the guard towers and the barbed wire fence?

KO: Well, we looked at it. You could see them, they had machine guns on top of the grandstand itself. I thought the guns were supposed to point outwards, but they were pointing inwards.

RP: So how did that make you feel?

KO: I had a lot of mixed feelings. Being fifteen, you really, I was more worried, concerned about my, about my activities, is that a good way to put it, with my friends, trying to make the best of the situation. And that's the way I'd put it. I know some people said they tried to make fun but I think it's a matter of adapting and trying to the best of what you have. I think that's what I felt.

RP: Did your sisters or brother work in the camp?

KO: I don't think we did as much in Puyallup. We did when we went to the permanent location. I remember I worked there when I got there. We were kinda early, so I got on a truck with some friends and we distributed mattresses. We acted like we were important people as the new ones come in. You toss mattresses down. [Laughs]

RP: You had mattresses, actual real mattresses, not bags filled with straw?

KO: In Puyallup, we had bags filled with straw.

RP: And you had to fill those, didn't you?

KO: Yes, you had to do that. They had a pile of straw, gave you bags, fill your own. I remember that. But in the permanent camp we had these, if I recall, the metal army cots with the mattresses with army blankets.

RP: Well, it sounds like Puyallup was pretty crude.

KO: Oh, yes.

RP: And just, like you said, very chaotic.

KO: Yeah, families were just, I think there's no family life. You can't have family life unless you're very strict. If you were very dedicated, a strong family, maybe you could maintain. I think my sisters hung around with the family. I know my brother and I kinda went with our friends. And he had his teammates from Broadway High School. I remember one time early in the game, he would bring back, bring in hamburgers and stuff. So he had it a couple times, and the guards decided no way, that's it. They were passing it through the barbed wire.

RP: Oh.

KO: Yeah, they were very loyal to him, they were teammates. I recall that. I was very jealous. [Laughs]

RP: I heard a story, too, that there were actually vendors who set up little stands and things and sold things through the fence.

KO: I guess I didn't know that because I didn't have any money to spend.

RP: Yeah, after Pearl Harbor, the FBI rounded up all the Issei leaders, community people. They also froze the assets of Japanese families. Were you able to bring any money into camp with you?

KO: I don't remember. See, I wasn't in on that part, so I don't know whether they did or not. I was one of the younger ones. Like my kid sister says, we were the last ones to know within the family. My older sisters were more involved. So financially I don't know. My dad had run up a lot of bills. He let people charge, unfortunately, and when the war started, it was gone.

RP: Right, that was, that financial stress as well as the evacuation stress created a medical problem.

KO: And he ate very unhealthy, we realize today. He didn't care for fish; he didn't eat much fish. It was all, he had access to all the pork chops and that, uh-huh. He probably was loaded with cholesterol and he didn't realize it.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2007 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.