<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So, Lilly, where we ended up, you talked about, we had just talked about your father being picked up by the FBI, and how difficult that was. And you said there's a couple week period where you didn't know what happened to your father.

LI: No, I don't think my mother knew either.

TI: So eventually you found... how did your father eventually communicate with your mother?

LI: He didn't at that time. And when she went to bring a little food or something, he was already gone to Missoula, Montana. And so from there he used to write, but it wasn't to me, it was to my mother. I read some of that, and I tried to look for some of those things, but I could not find anything.

TI: So there were like letters back and forth.

LI: Letters, uh-huh. He never called as far as I know. And like I said, he was moved to about five camps after that.

TI: And so let's talk a little bit about, so how did your mother survive without your father? Because he was, he had a salary with a railroad, and he was probably helping out with the hotel. So what did your mother do?

LI: She was making the rentals that came in, she never mentioned to me that she couldn't feed herself and myself. So I really can't remember that.

TI: Now, did your life change in these weeks after your father was gone?

LI: Oh, yeah. I was really upset that he's gone, and like my mother, she didn't know where he was, and I certainly didn't either. So it was a sad time at that period.

TI: Now did you sense or see any kind of more bad feelings towards Japanese Americans during this time period? So you're in Portland, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, were there any incidences at school or anywhere else against Japanese Americans?

LI: There was a real good Chinese friend of mine, we had gone from kindergarten on up, and she wore a pin, "I am Chinese," and that really hurt me. And we didn't talk for the longest time, until we came back from the (internment camp) and I saw her at Olds & King's.

TI: And did you ever ask her about, or talk about the war?

LI: No, never. And, well, I don't know where she lives or whether she's married or not, but I saw her on the elevator at this old department store, and we just said hello and that was about it.

TI: Now when you saw your good friend wearing an "I am Chinese" button, what did that mean to you? Why were you upset?

LI: Well, because she saw me as one of the enemies, apparently. And she didn't want to be mistaken for Japanese because she might have gone through something that wasn't very pleasant for her. And she had brothers and sisters, but I didn't know 'em all that well. But (...) she still might be around. And I was very sad to see that.

TI: Because part of it -- I talked to some Chinese about this -- part of it was they said it was just self-protection.

LI: Very possible.

TI: It wasn't like, necessarily, they were against the Japanese, but they just did that so at night or whatever, during the curfew, they could still be able to...

LI: Right, right. Very possible.

TI: But, so Beverly was your friend, she's Chinese. I'm curious, at some people, Japan and China were at war. Did that ever cause any tension between the Japanese and Chinese?

LI: Not that I know of.

TI: Because I know there were Chinese families, especially the immigrants, who didn't like Japanese because of what was going on in Asia.

LI: Yes, that's true. I wasn't particularly educated in that line at all. So friends were friends.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.