<Begin Segment 5>

JA: Tell me about the, the trip. How were you transported to Manzanar?

GI: On a bus. And one thing that, well, some politicians are always making a big thing out of what a sad day it was and they can remember how they were treated and this and that, but I -- like I mentioned earlier -- I didn't see anybody shedding any tears, I didn't see anybody crying, and I didn't see anybody complaining. And in fact, on that bus, we stopped on the way up to Manzanar we stopped at one, one little restaurant and we all got off and we ran and got ice cream. That was a treat for us. So that's how I can remember going to Manzanar.

JA: But didn't anyone think that maybe this was not quite in line with the Constitution?

GI: Well, I think there was, I think that very few did, not too many. Like I mentioned, they didn't care whether, you know, we were gone anyway or we were forced to move out. Of course, I felt sorry for some of the Issei that were quite well-off financially, and they, and their older son had owned property and this and that. I felt for them, but the majority I think were just poor, poor people. And I know that a lot of the Isseis that went to all the camps in this country, it was like a vacation for them. It was the first time they could really, you know, take it easy and don't have to worry about what they're going to do tomorrow, and... at least I found it that way.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2002 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.