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SG: And do you remember when the U.S. declared war on Japan?

GA: Yes. By the way, I should also go back a little ways here. In June of 1941, I was drafted into the U.S. Army. This was when I was working in the grocery, my dad's grocery store and I wasn't able to, well, I didn't even try to get the deferment, but I was drafted in June of 1941. But in February of '42, I was transferred to the reserve corps just because I was Japanese, 1942.

SG: So how did your parents feel about you being drafted at that time?

GA: Well, they felt that I had to serve my duty, so they were willing to let me go.

SG: And how did you feel being drafted?

GA: I didn't want to go, but I had to do my duty and then went. This is June of '41 when naturally war had not been declared, but apparently, there was a lot of feeling between Japan and U.S. at that time, but I don't recall anything happening affecting my ancestry at that time. I felt like I was just an ordinary U.S. soldier and I had to serve my country.

SG: Did your parents ever express how they felt toward what Japan was doing at that time?

GA: No, they didn't. As far as I can remember, they didn't.

SG: Do you know if they had any feelings about their son joining the war against Japan?

GA: I don't remember their expressing any concern. I don't remember that.

SG: So you, when the U.S. declared war on Japan, you were in the army reserves?

GA: No. I was in the army, active duty. It was February 1942 that they released me.

SG: So how did you feel when you heard that America was declaring war on Japan?

GA: Well, I felt very bad, very bad. I felt very depressed.

SG: What was going, was there anything specific going through your mind in terms of the thoughts you had?

GA: I guess I felt very bad that Japan would attack Hawaii. I mean, I was reading the newspapers like everybody else was and didn't know the full, full story behind all this, so I was reading all the newspapers just like everyone else, and I felt very badly that Japan would be attacking U.S., very bad.

SG: As a Japanese American, hearing that Japan attacked the U.S. --

GA: Yeah.

SG: Did that make you feel, how did that, you mentioned you felt depressed, was it because you were Japanese American?

GA: Yeah, yeah.

SG: During the war or when they drafted you, what type of work did they ask you to do in the army?

GA: Well, first of all, there was basic training. But after I was transferred, after basic training, I was transferred to a place called Fort McDowell, California, which is on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. It was an overseas replacement depot, and that's on February, in February of '42, excuse me, that's where I was on December 7, 1941. And I remember all of us on duty there had to bear a rifle, were stationed around the island at that time on the night of December 7th. I hardly knew how to shoot a gun in those days. But anyway, that was December 7, 1941. And in February of 1942, I along with about six or seven other Japanese Americans on this post were transferred to the reserve corps.

SG: Was it all Japanese Americans in your --

GA: In just, in our post, in our camp. Later, I heard that many of my Japanese American friends were transferred to inland posts when war was declared. I remember one family, one friend was taken, transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, several of them were taken to Fort Riley, Kansas. But in my particular post, the CO said you're being out. You're taken out of the army into the reserve corps.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.