Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Alfred "Al" Miyagishima Interview
Narrator: Alfred "Al" Miyagishima
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Denver, Colorado
Date: May 13, 2008
Densho ID: denshovh-malfred-01-0013

<Begin Segment 13>

TI: Okay, so we're now in the second hour, Alfred, and where we finished up, we're in Stockton, you had to move there because your father was ill, got sick, and you were gonna pick it up right about when the war started. So let me ask you the question, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, how did you hear about the bombing of Pearl Harbor? Where were you, what do you remember of that?

AM: If I'm remembering right, there were newspaper boys out on the street, "Extra, extra, Japs bomb Pearl Harbor." We turned the radio on and it came out on the radio. My father used to listen to a commentator, news analyst or whatever at that time, his name was Boke Carter, and my dad used to listen to him on the radio all the time, he thought that this person give real good opinions of the world news and stuff like that. But my dad told me that Boke Carter had said things that might lead to war at that time. There were certain things in the air, and so my dad, he had heard all that on the radio, but it's just another man's opinion, this and that, but he knew there was some friction. So when the war did break out, he was really, really surprised. To me, we just looked at each other and the bottom of my heart just fell. And I think I could speak for the whole family, just sat there just kind of numb, "What?" It's just like everything just fell like that. It was on a Sunday, so here we are thinking about, are we going to go to school the next day? We really felt bad. But we made up our minds we were gonna go, we got on the bus and went to school.

TI: Before you go there, so before, you mentioned how your father always wanted to have a good Sunday dinner. So on that Sunday, did you have a good Sunday dinner? Do you recall that dinner of that day?

AM: Yeah, I don't really recall, but I'm saying that more than likely, the dinner was already planned like on Saturday or Sunday. It was never something that we planned on Saturday -- or Sunday, because the meat had to be purchased and whatever. So I'm thinking that it was already pre-planned. So we probably had the dinner, but I don't think it tasted like any other Sunday dinner.

TI: Do you recall your father, any of the words of your father in terms of the words he said about what might happen, or what he was thinking?

AM: Yeah, he said... I can't explain the exact words, I don't remember, but I'm thinking he said that, "This is not right, this is not right," you know, and he kept saying that, "This is not right." But I don't think he had much comment other than to say that, "You're all Americans, you have to behave like good Americans and do the right things." He always espoused that, you know, he always told us that that's what we had to do. And I remember him saying that, "Whatever happens, you're still good Americans. Just remember you're American." That's all he used to say. What else could he say?

TI: How about any comments about Japan? Did he mention anything about his feelings towards his mother country?

AM: No. He never said anything about that at all, he never, you know, said anything derogatory or anything. He never mentioned going back to Japan or anything, 'cause I think in his heart, he knew that what he had was he earned while he was in the United States. There was nothing in Japan that owed him anything or that he had to go back to.

TI: I'm curious, leading up to the war, how did he stay in touch with Japan was doing? I mean, did he read Japanese newspapers?

AM: Yeah, he read the Japanese newspapers, he also read the daily papers. Of course, you know, he's an invalid, so he spent all his time reading this, reading that, or listening to the radio or something like that. So it wasn't like he was in the dark about anything going on, but he never, never subscribed to any subversive things or anything like that.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.