Densho Digital Archive - Susumu Iwasaki Interview (denshovh-isusumu

<Begin Segment 13>

RP: So you were given forty-eight hours to leave the island. I think it was February 24th or 28th.

SI: Or something like that, yeah.

RP: Yeah. What else can you tell us about that, that period of time on the island?

SI: Not much. The only thing was everything was, everything was in chaos. All I remember was Dad used to tell me, he says, we used to have... Dad used to collect records, Japanese records. And there must be at least five hundred records there. We had, Dad said, take this and go to the... they used to have a place where you burn stuff. And he says, "Take it over there and throw 'em away," he says. So, throw all the records away.

RP: You did, you did...

SI: All of 'em. I did, yeah. Yeah. So, like I said, there was not much to tell except everything was just to a point where it was, people didn't know what to do. And to this day I don't know, you gotta give these people from L.A. area a lot of credit. Because they came and took everybody off Terminal Island. I mean, there was no buses. And, like I said...

RP: These were Caucasian people or Japanese?

SI: No, Japanese people came from L.A. area. I don't know where. Maybe from all over other, every, where it was not restricted area. But they came and took every one of 'em. I mean, amazing, it was... I thought about it. I says, wow, you know... like myself, too, I was picked up from these guys here. And then they must have done that to all the rest of the people. And then I guess they didn't care where they went as long as it's a place to stay.

RP: Off the island.

SI: Yeah. So I'm sure they went to Norwalk, Gardena, and different areas like I said.

RP: What was, what was the hostel like?

SI: [Laughs] That's another... it was like a barnyard. I mean, it was a big building and room, maybe, I would say five times as big as this. There must have been about thirty or forty family in one area. I mean, it was no privacy, you know what I mean? What, what else can you do?

RP: The building, was it formerly a school or a church or do you know what it was before?

SI: That I don't know. It was, it was a huge big room. That's all I can remember.

RP: And did you eat in one large room?

SI: That I don't know either. I don't know whether there was a cafeteria or what. But, soon after... well, I think I went to school there for about, about two months. Yeah.

RP: Which school?

SI: Belvedere Junior High School. See, Evergreen was a cut-off line. If you live on the east side you had to go either Stevenson or Belvedere, and I ended up in Belvedere. But if you on the other side, the school was another school which was closer. Well, we couldn't go there because we were on the, the other side. But, who cares, you know.

RP: So, where did you have to assemble when you went to Manzanar? Do you remember the place that you met to go to Manzanar?

SI: No, they pick us up at the hostel.

RP: Who?

SI: Tell you what, I don't know. [Laughs] So anyway, I think we went on a, on a train.

RP: You went to Union Station, or...

SI: That I don't know. So the only thing we had to carry was our suitcase anyway. So...

RP: Do you remember anything about your train trip to Manzanar?

SI: No. Not a thing.