Densho Digital Archive - Ann Sugimoto Interview (denshovh-sann-01-0031)

<Begin Segment 31>

RP: Do you remember... Jack, Jack wrote about it in his book, about a trip that he made to Manzanar to bring up a refrigerator?

AS: No, not the refridge, he brought a sewing machine. He brought a sewing, my mother's sewing machine, and in fact, I still got it there. I was gonna give it to... it's a Singer and it's... I don't know. It still works. But I'm gonna... it's an... work, went up to Idaho, Manzanar, and it went to Ohio and back again, so that's the one. It's a, see that old Singer. It's one of the first electric. It's a beautiful cabinet, so I thought, well gee, the cabinet is beautiful, so I thought I'd save it. So I don't know maybe who wants it, but give it to them. But he brought that, and they wanted him to stay with the soldiers down there, and they had a nice place. They had a regular home there, bungalows, real nice. He said, "No, I'm gonna stay with my folks," in the old barrack [Laughs]. Well, the soldiers that came to visit usually stayed with the family in the barrack.

RP: You hadn't seen Jack for quite a while.

AS: Yeah, I know. It's really... but isn't it something? But you didn't know about the black soldiers in the tents? See, no, hardly anybody... my husband knew, see? I bet the first time you heard... isn't that sad, though? But I don't want to bring it up, then they, they'll start up something, but isn't it... you don't know how it gets in that, inside the barrack it's, like, hundred fifty degrees, so you can imagine the tents. And when that wind blew, it was like Sahara desert. You couldn't see. And they were in the tents. See, you didn't even know. See, very few... I don't, I think hardly anybody knew about it. But I think Dan must've talked to one of the soldiers and he told Dan, "You be lucky. You're in a barrack."

RP: What did, what did you think about Jack's involvement with the 442nd and his experiences that he had overseas?

AS: Oh yeah, he had really bad experience. They don't like to talk about it, but now, all these years later, he tells me about all these experiences. 'Cause most of the soldiers, they don't want to tell their family about things. Just like camp, the people don't want to talk about it. I just remember all the good parts so far. I mean, I guess I didn't have problems or anything. Everything went... me, nice, I had a nice... my sister, guess we were not, we knew the right people in there and all, but they didn't -- except the riot thing and all that. We just stayed away from it. Jack, too, talks about experience and all, really was bad. But you know --

RP: Did you get letters from him in camp?

AS: No, but you know what he, he said when... bunch of these young German soldiers, he said they were really young fellows, they would capture them, and they were so glad to be captured by these Japanese fellows because they knew they were gonna be treated right. Yeah, he said they raised their hand and they were so glad to be captured by the 442nd, but... 'cause he knew then they'll have food and everything and they'll be treated right. Isn't that something, though? Yes, that's kind of something, to remember. Even when they went into Italian villages, too... oh, and you know how the Japanese guys are, these kids half starving and all, and they, they'd give them bars of candy and all that stuff. Kids are that way. Japanese kids, well, they were Japanese American, but they're that way. They're not mean, like some could be mean. Like when they rescued those... you know, that, up the hill, up... that's where most of, I think almost, over half, about maybe two-thirds were killed, and when they got up there, there were more people up there, but they were black. And he, my brother said, gee, they were in tears and they were just so scared. They were scared, you know. They rescued them. But stuff like that, isn't that sad, though? But so many got killed just rescuing them, most of, yeah, almost all. I think my brother got shot, too, when that... there was... but these kids are just really...