Densho Digital Archive - George Matsumoto Interview (denshovh-mgeorge

<Begin Segment 26>

KP: This is tape three of a continuing interview with George Matsumoto, and we're talking about arriving in Tule Lake. You talked about something on the train. What did you do on the train?

GM: Oh, there were three of us, my two, two waitresses and myself. We were all nineteen, so we thought it was a lark, and we had to -- well, first of all, there was a diner. It was just a freight, freight car with picnic tables attached to the wall, just one side of the table, and then on the other wall they had the other table, so they were nailed right to the wall. And then the first car was the cooking, where all the cooking was done, so while we were in between the meals we helped the cooking, peel potatoes and all this kind of thing. We didn't do actual cooking because they had the army cooks, but there were PFCs and just doing the KP and just like we were. It was kind of an experience because since... we thought we were volunteering to see the countryside, here it was just in the boxcar with two, two windows. Nothing to see. And most of the time that we were in there helping serve and first the MPs came. They were real sharp lookin' and they would stand there at attention and we would serve all the plates and then their commander would tell 'em to sit down and then they started eating. But in between we would serve the internees. They would come in shifts, so many from each car, and in between we would do KP duty. But after each meal we would have to clean the table, and it was spotless, real white, clean. We couldn't figure out, and we soon found out because after each meal we had to wash them, so that, some of (...) the KP soldiers (did also)... you had to use this white soap and then the -- brown soap, rather -- and then the cleanser, Dutch cleanser, and wash it with white, clear water and dry it. And then there was a second lieutenant in charge, he would come with white gloves, rub the top of the (table) and the bottom and look at... and if we passed inspection, then that was (that), we would be free 'til the next meal. But (it) brought back memories 'cause this Dutch cleanser, I hadn't seen that since before the war and that was the first time I'd seen it. And lately, about a year or so ago, I went to a 99 store and they had it on sale. I said gee, I didn't even know that they made that thing anymore.

KP: So how long was the train trip?

GM: It was two, two days and a night, 'cause every time a troop train, another train would come by they'd put us on the siding and all the other trains would go by and then we'd take off, but these were old trains, steam engines, and some of the coaches, they were out of a museum, I think, 'cause they had the plush velvet upholstery and people sat facing each other, four people. And that's the way you had to sleep. You couldn't lay down. And we'd put our foot on the other side and some people had smelly feet, so it's kinda bad. But every time we came to a town we had to pull the shades down and the MPs would lock the toilets, and I was wondering how come they do that? But then I had to go to the toilet one time and when I flushed the toilet I saw tracks underneath. That's how old these cars were. And then down the center they had the top protruding out and along the sides there were windows that they could open for air, 'cause they didn't have any air conditioning those days. And they had light fixtures like my chandelier there with the clear glass bulbs. So it was quite an experience.

RP: George, were the MPs armed?

GM: They had sidearms, but...

RP: No rifles?

GM: No. They were very courteous. Everybody was courteous to us. They didn't treat us like POWs or anything.