Densho Digital Archive - Jun Ogimachi Interview (denshovh-ojun-01-0015)

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RP: And you returned back to San Fernando to the farm?

JO: Well, at first I came back and my uncle had a, had a place in L.A., which was under the older son's name because he couldn't own the place. And we stayed there for about a week, I think. And then we went back to San Fernando, Pacoima. And we lived in the garage there for a year. It was all fixed up with beds and all that. And the lady who owned the place, we knew her before the war and we used to eat sometimes with her. 'Cause she was only alone. Big house. But she was very nice.

RP: And your father, you said your father chose to stay at Manzanar?

JO: Yeah. He did go to Chicago and he was working. I don't know what he was doing. But he was on his way to work on V.E. Day. It's when he got hit by a truck on the crosswalk. And so he never knew that the war ended. So he was gonna come back to Manzanar I think the following week or something like that.

RP: Now you had, both your parents were from Hiroshima area.

JO: Yeah.

RP: How did you feel about, when you heard the news about the bomb being dropped on that town?

JO: Well, I really didn't think too much about it because today, that's war. That's part of the war. And then they dropped the bomb. I think my mom might have been a little bit upset because where she lived was about the center where that bomb hit. That was not the target you know. She was tellin' me the target was out where the... well, I think that's confirmed too that where the navy and their navy and where all the big supplies were, you know, war supplies and stuff like that. Well, they missed the what you call it... where they were going, and they lived, where she lived is about where there was the center. So, I don't know. To me, it was just an... she was a little bit upset about it because I don't know how many relatives or things were there. Even though she had relatives that had moved out and were all on different parts of Japan. I have never seen any of them. The only one I know of where that church was, where she was grew up and where my, where my dad was, grew up. So, that's about all I can tell you about when I think about it. I've been to that site. I've also been to Nagasaki where the, where the other bomb hit. In fact, I was in Nagasaki a year ago in April and unbelievable how it is, wow, what it looked like. I mean, they didn't wait. It's all really built up. It's really modern, too. And another thing about Japan that we should, they don't do here, the place is clean. The streets and all that are really clean. What they, what I understand, they get all their people and then they all give 'em a job so they don't have to get welfare and all that. And they're out there, maybe not all day, but they're cleaning and stuff up. And it was really surprising.