<Begin Segment 6>

JC: And were you in Portland then when you were doing this after you went through your training in, you went through your basic training. Then where did --

FO: Basic training, Fort Des Moines. And there, all alone, they sent me to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where I was to become part of the language school. And then when basic training was completed, my peers there were saying, "Oh, you're so lucky." You know where you're going and, because the others over there what they're called staging to be assigned to wherever, whatever departments they were to be sent to. And here, they said, "Well, you're so lucky. You already have a spot to go to," and such. And here all alone, I traveled to Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

JC: So two things there, what was it like to be all alone in Fort Snelling, and did no one look cross-eyed at you and think you're a Japanese?

FO: No, but the whole camp there was the Japanese American, the language school, so there were so many men there. You could have had pick of dates. In fact, you felt like I'm not going to go out with anybody. It was really something. It was adventurous.

JC: So what happened? You're there, you got all these great guys around you.

FO: There were fourteen of us gals, who came, women, and, but they wouldn't start our program, so we were doing clerical work. Was it two months later, whatever, but there was a wonderful commanding officer, this lady commanding officer. She said if any of you are unhappy and want to do different things or what. And I said, you know, I've had nurse's training. I already finished my first year in preclinical training. I think I would like to be in the medics, and she paved my way in here, and my nursing, or my military career in the medics. And here I'm sent to Camp Crowder, Minnesota, and I joined the medical group at Camp Crowder. And the duration of my service was at Camp Crowder, and that's where I met John. He was in the surgical medics being a surgical technician. But I was even, one of the WAC ladies, she says, "I want you to meet somebody that I'm working with. You'll like him." And I thought, "No, no, no. I'm staying away." I'm not, I've seen enough of the Japanese American fellows at Fort Snelling. I'm being real cagey, but we met and played ping-pong. By the way, I won a battalion championship in ping-pong during basic training. So John and I were good at ping-pong and whatever. That's how we got acquainted.

JC: So when did you and John, how did you get from Minnesota? When you get married, how did you get out here?

FO: Well, Johnny was discharged in December 1945. And two weeks later, Mrs. Southworth had been planning my wedding for me all summer. She had a whole booklet made on the plans for the wedding. She was a jewel. She had the wedding all planned. And John got discharged December the 2nd, I believe, and then I was still in service but was able to get away. And we were married at the Southworths' home on December the 15th, two weeks after Johnny was discharged from service, and she gave us a wonderful wedding. She had the Lincoln High School choir come and sing at our wedding.

JC: Tell me a little bit more, I mean, she was an incredible benefactor for you.

FO: She was.

JC: She was an incredible person in your life. Was that a common experience? Who were benefactors, and do you know other people who had someone like that? Were there other Caucasians that came to the aid of the Japanese or how did that happen?

FO: Well, I hear stories all along of people who benefitted. The evacuees kept in close touch, sent them gifts. You read about it all the time of people with benefactors. But Miss Azalea Peet was wonderful in Eastern Oregon. She was, she led the way for my schooling. And the Southworths were just wonderful, couldn't have done without them because actually we were orphans.

JC: So in a way, they were like your parents here.

FO: Uh-huh She refers to us as foster daughters. We were her foster daughters. She was very... well, she taught for twenty-seven years at Lincoln High School, and there's a scholarship in her name left at the school. My sister's classmate was Jerry Frank. She corresponds with him still. And whenever I see the articles that Jerry writes, I mail it to her.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.