<Begin Segment 16>

RP: So you, you decided to leave camp, your friend had arranged a job for you?

FY: Yes.

RP: Were you ready to leave camp, mentally?

FY: Yes, I went to Chicago and worked for this Dr. Tashiro. And he decided that he's going to make his office a stepping stone for us to...

RP: Oh, a Japanese doctor.

FY: Doctor, yes, and he had a, his private office had a huge U.S. flag. [Laughs]

RP: Show, show loyalty.

FY: Yes, loyalty.

RP: Was it tough to leave your dad in Tule Lake, and the rest of your family? You traveled alone?

FY: Yes, I traveled alone. All of us were, my parents, they still wanted to stay in California and go back to, back home. That was their wish. But the young people said, well, if there was better opportunities elsewhere, well, we'll go there.

RP: This decision to leave camp, how did it... how did it, the timing work out with Tule Lake becoming a segregation center?

FY: I went before.

RP: Do you remember what, roughly what month you left?

FY: Oh, I can't remember what month I left.

RP: But it was just before it became a segregation center?

FY: Yes, uh-huh.

RP: And tell us about traveling from... how did you...

FY: By train.

RP: And where did you pick up the train?

FY: There were trains, where is that... closest town to Tule Lake. From there, I...

RP: Did you go to Reno?

FY: Let's see.

KP: Klamath Falls?

FY: Klamath Falls, yeah. Klamath Falls.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.