Densho Digital Archive - George Matsumoto Interview (denshovh-mgeorge

<Begin Segment 27>

KP: So how was, how was Tule Lake different from Manzanar for you?

GM: Oh, it was hectic. There were a lot of rabble rousers, pro-Japan people.

KP: What, what did you and your brothers do?

GM: I worked in the mess hall, so I went to school at night. And since everybody was expecting to get shipped to Japan, well, like this guy (Westbrook) Pegler, he was a journalist, famous journalist, he wanted to castrate all the Japanese (males), whether they're loyal or disloyal, and send 'em to Japan after the war. So, and then there were a lot or racists, like (John) Rankin, these kind of people from the South. They wanted to ship everybody to Japan after the war. So we, we said, "Gee, well, we don't have any choice," "No-nos."

KP: So while you were there you thought that you had a one way ticket to Japan?

GM: One way, yeah, so we were kinda surprised at the end of the war, they said, "Hey, you guys want to change your mind, we'll interview you." So I said, "Well, sure," and I signed up. We were about one of three thousand or so that did that, so about ninety-nine percent of the people got freed, they were changed to, cleared to leave camp, but my brothers, they went from Tule Lake to Spokane and went to Chicago. They had a hard time getting on the train because the GIs coming back, so they had to sit on their suitcase all the way to Chicago, which I thought I'm not gonna go the same way. I went the devious route. I went down to Martinez and then Stockton, Modesto and L.A., back to Sacramento and stayed in L.A. for a couple weeks. Went back to my hometown, saw my teachers and friends, but every time I stopped they'd give me a ticket about that long and the conductor would tear off a piece. Finally it was just down to one. But I told the people at WRA, "I want to stop at these places because I want to look for a job." You can't say, "I'm gonna go sightseeing," otherwise they would say no, but as long as you're looking for a job... so I stopped in Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Omaha, Nebraska, and looked around the town and had a ball.

KP: Where did you end up finally?

GM: Chicago. Well, I didn't want to go back to Chicago because, after the war my mother said that since we'd been separated for two years, come to visit, so when I went to Chicago I never dreamt that I'd be there for thirteen years. Yeah. And when I went back it was at St. Joseph Day, it's the day, same day as the Capistrano, the swallows come back, but over there is a big Polish population, so they're having this big celebration and I said gee, that's nice of them to have a big day for me. [Laughs] But it was really St. Joseph's.

KP: Yeah, welcome to Chicago.

GM: I was shocked at how dirty it was, coming from California. Oh, it's sooty and, even after the snow, the crust of soot. It's not white.