Densho Digital Archive - Ann Sugimoto Interview (denshovh-sann-01-0018)

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RP: This is tape two of a continuing interview with Ann Sugimoto. Ann, we were talking about the, your experiences after Pearl Harbor and before evacuation. Now your brother Jack, he was drafted in the military.

AS: Uh-huh. I think he was the first, was it the first or second draft? He was really drafted early. So anyway, he went in, and my brother-in-law, Dan's brother, older brother, was drafted, too.

RP: That was Ralph?

AS: Yeah, so they took him, 'cause, they didn't take Dan 'cause he had to take care of his old folks. But after we were in Ohio he got a draft notice. I had my daughter, and I said, "Jeez, where am I gonna go? Let me see, I can go back to Idaho," because, you know, I didn't know what to do. So then my brother says -- no, then the Venice draft, they denied him. They said he's doing, you know what he was doing? It's really dirty work, but he was cleaning mortar shells. Well, that's important. They need those mortar... so, ooh, what a dirty work, but that's why they denied his... so he got a, he didn't have to go in the service. And my brother says, "Dan, try to stay out because it's not a place for you. What if you were maimed or something?" you know. It's a good thing, too. I said yeah, I just had my daughter, so that's what it was.

RP: You were talking earlier about, I guess it was Dan who wanted to go up to see his family in Hanford, and he, you said he was wearing a Texaco uniform?

AS: Yeah, they told, police... he went to them to ask permission 'cause we're not supposed to go more than twenty-five mile. So he said, "I want to take my folks, old folks up to Hanford," so they said, "Yeah, you just go, just..." so he said, "Just wear your Texaco uniform and just go," and so he said he didn't have any trouble.

RP: So he was running a gas station?

AS: No, he had this whole valley. He serviced them with gas, and he, one year he figured at one year time he'll have enough money, we'll get married. So he had his truck and everything, and he was in competition with the Standard Oil, this fellow, but he said, "No, no, Dan, you go ahead," because he was on his own. And Standard Oil, everybody stayed with Standard Oil, but they knew Dan. He helped -- and he's that kind -- he helped these Japanese people, all kinds of work, you know, not... I mean, he knows how to do things, 'cause their children were younger than him. He was at least past twenty-one. So they all said, "Okay, we'll change to you." And Melbourne, that's the fellow, he said, "No, Dan, you do," you know. So he got all the farmers here to take gas from him, and he was just doing well and then here Pearl Harbor comes up, so... but then what happened is Standard, this one big farmer, and he said, well, he can't because he's been taking Standard Oil so long. But he's real good friend of Dan's, too, so he said, "Dan, you know --" but what happened is, when the war started, Standard Oil told him, "Don't service any of the farmers." So here, some of that [inaudible] said, "Gee, Dan, could you service?" You know, because they still had to use the tractors, and so that's how it was. But fortunately they all knew here is this little guy trying to make his living, but everyone, every one of them cleared all their bill with Dan. Boy, they had a clean slate, he had a good background, because they know he's on his own. And so here it is. He didn't have anything because he left his truck, and the person he left it with, they never paid him. So he was kind of darn broke. I had more money than him. [Laughs] Crazy, huh? Really.

RP: So how soon, how soon was it that you got married before you went to camp?

AS: About ten days before. Yeah, we were the last one to get married in that church. Only twenty-five people were allowed. People weren't allowed to travel more than twenty, twenty-five miles. Can you imagine that?

RP: So you sort of... instead of getting separated...

AS: Yeah, we wanted to go camp. My mother says, "Why don't you wait?" Dan took his folks up there already to... 'cause he thought maybe they wouldn't have to evacuate, but later they did have to evacuate, even in Hanford. But anyway, so that's how we got together. They didn't trust us. Now I think back, here we are citizens, never even went to Japan. Isn't that something, though? I don't think, that's why Japanese American Citizens League, when they talk about the Arabs and Iranian, I said that's right. They're going through the same thing we went. It's not their fault that they have war back there. Isn't that true? And you know, when I think about them... well, I don't know, they're smarter than us, so I guess they got more smarter people to work for them. We were not.