Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Bo T. Sakaguchi Interview
Narrator: Bo T. Sakaguchi
Interviewer: John Allen
Location:
Date: November 6, 2002
Densho ID: denshovh-sbo-01-0002

<Begin Segment 2>

JA: What do you... how old were you in 1941?

BS: I was sixteen.

JA: What do you remember about December 7th?

BS: Well, December 7th, we were farming in North Hollywood and one morning, that morning, Sunday morning, a neighbor -- no, not a neighbor, he was the seed salesman for my father. He came around to sell seeds and he says, "Did you know war, Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor?" We were just shocked. We were just shocked. It was a devastating day for all of us because it... well, it was just a devastating day for all of us. Something it's hard to forget; we will never forget. Other than that, we went farming as usual. Continued with the farming.

JA: Were there reactions towards you as people of Japanese blood after Pearl Harbor?

BS: Well, you know, not against us per se, and I remember the first day back to school after Pearl Harbor. The man that we used to call Warden Thompson, he was the study hall master and he was a, became a good... he liked me. He was a good teacher and he liked me. He put his arm around me as I was walking in the hallway and says, "If anybody gives you a hard time, just let me know." But nothing ever happened to me. Nothing ever happened to me.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2002 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.