Densho Digital Archive - Bob Fuchigami Interview (denshovh-fbob-01-0013)

<Begin Segment 13>

RP: Tape two of a continuing interview with Bob Fuchigami. And Bob, we were talking about the period between Pearl Harbor and when you received notice to, that your family would be evacuated. And...

KP: Ask about if there were any particular incidents that he remembers after Pearl Harbor.

RP: Right. You mentioned about incidents in the towns or...

KP: Schools.

RP: ... school that directly affected you or other Japanese Americans in the community. Can you share any of those with us?

BF: I don't, I don't remember a lot of, of the things that were happening at that, that time. I certainly have read about now, but... as a ten-year-old kid, ten, eleven-year-old kid, you, you don't know a lot of what's goin' on. It's, it's in the newspapers and it's on the radio. They didn't have TV in those days. So, I know now that they, that, that there were groups that wanted, wanted our land, 'cause it was highly productive land. So they took advantage of, of the pending evacuation. And there were few voices raised in opposition to, to the movement of Japanese away from the, from the properties. And I don't think they were thinking in terms of constitutional rights. People might say, "I'm sorry you're leaving," or anything like that, but... I think they just bought into that, that notion that, well, if the military is saying you gotta go, you gotta go. And, I think at that time that we sort of did what we were told, I mean, even though it was wrong. And there was, there was a phrase I heard later on about, "It can't be helped." Well, it could have been helped. There could, there could have been more protests, but it was, it was the tenor of the times, I guess.

RP: What are your memories of the, the time before you evacuated? Do you have any vivid memories of the family getting ready to leave? You packing up your clothing or possessions?

BF: Yeah. Well... we only have five days.

RP: That's all?

BF: Yeah. The, the notice came out on what --

RP: I think you said...

BF: -- like May 12th.

RP: Right.

BF: And then on May 13th, I think my, one of my brothers or two, went, went to a meeting and they got more instructions as to what they could, they could take with them.

RP: And you got those tags, didn't you?

BF: Huh?

RP: You got the tags for your luggage and...

BF: Yeah. You get the tags to put on the, on the suitcases.

RP: What was your family number, do you recall?

BF: At one time it was, what was it? It was twelve? I wrote it down. 1207.

RP: Oh, and... you got 20480.

BF: Two zero... yeah, okay. 20480. Yeah, I guess I've repressed that. But it's one you wear to, to help anyone. You say, well, he's from that family. And then that's their luggage.

RP: So you had only five days to, to prepare to leave?

BF: Yeah, it was, well, by time you got that information it was four days and then on the, we got the, the first notice came out on the twelfth, and then we were scheduled to leave on the seventeenth, by train. So it was actually about four days. And what are you gonna do? I mean, you got a farm, you got all your farm equipment, you've got your home that you've spent years and years building, you got all your furniture, you've got... your whole life is sort of centered around this piece of property that you've, you've lived in and lived on. So, it was a very busy and stressful time. And I'm sure it was far worse for, for my parents.