Densho Digital Archive - Susumu Iwasaki Interview (denshovh-isusumu

<Begin Segment 17>

RP: So you don't remember any other incidences or situations where there were fights or...

SI: Not really. We, one time something happened. I really didn't know. But we, we all went to the camp, I mean, their camp. And we surrounded the whole barrack and the guy never came out. But, hey, we were just there just to be, say what was going on, you know. So anyway, after a while, we just all left home, came back to the camp, our barrack. But that was the only thing I can remember as far as... and then of course we had the riot. Which --

RP: What can you tell us about that?

SI: Not much except there was what, a group of, what they call the... oh, they call them Kibeis. And they were out beating up people for, for reasons I don't know. And I guess there were people that was collaborating with the, the authority. I didn't even know who they were but anyway, one of the rumor that came to our block was they were gonna come and beat up the police chief, which was, the guy was from Terminal Island.

RP: Higashi.

SI: Yeah, okay. You know about it.

RP: Yeah.

SI: Anyway, we all got our bats and then we patrolled the area. But nobody came. And they wouldn't dare come to Block 9. Because, like I say before, we had that particular reputation of being, you know...

RP: Tough.

SI: Tough guys. [Laughs] But any, any group... we had a group but we were, some of the guys in our group were pretty tough, tough guys. They weren't afraid to back out from any fighting. But anyway, we did that and nobody came. So, the biggest riot was we were, kids up there, we were, I don't know when it was but it was like we all went, I think it was somebody in the jail that they want to get out. Anyway, there was all these soldiers out there with their guns and we're out there in the very front line. I says, they're not watching and they say, "Eh, nothing gonna happen." So we all went back home. Then all of a sudden, man all hell broke loose. They start throwing tear gas and... but that was the extent of what I saw.

RP: So you left before the shooting occurred?

SI: Well, there was no shooting though.

RP: Oh, there was.

SI: Was there?

RP: Yes.

SI: But I know, I remember one of the guy died from tear gas or something.

RP: He was shot.

SI: Was he shot?

RP: Yeah, there were about thirteen people were shot and two died.

SI: No kidding?

RP: Yeah.

SI: No. Really?

RP: Really.

SI: Well, okay, it was, it was in Block 1 where things happened. And we all came back and all of a sudden, oh, clouds of smoke coming out of their end.

RP: But you went down there?

SI: Pardon?

RP: You were down there.

SI: Oh, I was down there. I was in the first line there. Good thing we left there when we did.

RP: So what was that like?

SI: Hey, you know, fourteen, fifteen years old kids were sitting in the front of the line just watching, you know. And, that was the extent of our involvement in that thing there. We just, we didn't know what was going on. So anyway, but after, after that, somebody told me there was only one guy got killed.

RP: One guy was killed initially and then another man died later at the hospital.

SI: Oh, is that right? That much I don't know.

RP: Do you remember the, across from your block was Block 3.

SI: Yeah, right.

RP: The Bainbridge Island people.

SI: Bainbridge, right.

RP: Do you remember how, what were relations like between your group and their group?

SI: Not really. They kept to themselves pretty much. The only thing that I remember was there was only, there was a couple of girls that was in our class. That was it. And she still comes to the reunion, one of 'em.

RP: Do you know who that is?

SI: I don't know her name but we used to call her "Genie with the light brown hair" 'cause she used to have brown hair. And then in our class we used to call her "Genie with the light brown hair."