<Begin Segment 16>

LT: In 1946, you returned to Hood River. Your family had been there for one year, and you came back. So before you returned, what had you heard about your hometown?

SA: Oh, I heard about, not much, but I heard about names being removed from the Honor Roll, you know.

LT: Can you talk about it?

SA: Yeah.

LT: Can you talk about that?

SA: Well, I don't know much about it, really. But I think as the veterans, Caucasian veterans come back from war, they're reading all about 442nd and the 100th, they put the name back on again. Actually, it was due to the pressure of the veterans, Caucasian veterans.

LT: And how would that be?

SA: Well, they put the pressure on the American Legion to reinstall the names.

LT: Okay. So the American Legion had taken the names of Japanese American GIs off the Honor Roll board?

SA: They removed them first, you know, then they put 'em back on again.

LT: Okay. What kinds of things did the Caucasian GIs say?

SA: I really don't know what they said. After all, the 442nd was the most highly decorated service unit ever in the U.S. Army.

LT: That's true. So you must have had some thoughts about what it would be like for your family to return to a valley with this kind of action taken, and also for you to return in 1946. What did you hear from your family about their return?

SA: Actually, I don't remember community with family after their return.

LT: Okay. But I know that you did return to Hood River for a brief furlough when you were still in the military.

SA: Yeah.

LT: What happened then? What did you see and how were you treated?

SA: Oh, at that time, I went to the store there on west side where, as kids, Grandpa used to take us there after summer work and buy us a milkshake or something, you know. I still had my, I had my uniform on, and there was a sign on the door that said, "No Japs Allowed," so I went in and wanted some pop, a certain soda pop. He said, "Oh, we don't have any." Then there were some fellows in there drinking beer. So I said, "Oh, I'll have a glass of beer." Oh, his face turned red and he said, "Dammit, can't you see that sign on the door? No Japs allowed." So I left. But then, after that, talked to Glendale, Clyde, he had a store put on off limits to servicemen. But that's a funny thing. About five, six years after I was in practice, the fellow came in and wanted his eyes checked. That was kind of interesting.

LT: Perhaps he had second thoughts.

SA: Yeah. But there were some good people in the valley. Nob was telling me about a fellow who was a cashier at association, the Food Growers Association, who was really good to Japanese folks or the people that were ernting Japanese land. They had a petition going around at that time to "keep the Japs out of the valley," I don't know, you've probably heard about it. Anyway, they came around to this fellow and wanted him to sign it. He said, "No, I won't sign it." Said, "Well, you might get fired," said, "Okay." Then after about a week, he got fired, and he was fired for three weeks or so, and they wanted him back because they just couldn't replace him. But it's interesting, some of those stories, you know. Or like my brother, when he came back from service, he still had his uniform on, and he went to get his hair cut downtown. And he got the haircut, then the barber said, "God, I should have slit his throat." And in the shop there happened to be a captain, I guess he was in his civvie clothes, but he was a captain. Then he came up to the house, Grandma said, to apologize for this barber making a statement like that.

LT: Thank you for those stories. Are there other incidents that you can think of?

SA: No, I can't. I guess there weren't that many. Oh, well, this lady, electrician's wife in town, Moore, Mrs. Moore, I guess, is the name. She used to do many things for Japanese after they first returned, or they couldn't get service for whatever, she would go get it for them. But Hank, my brother, said he went down to Safeway one day to get some stuff, and when he came out, he had two flat tires. Yeah. Things have changed, I hope. Anyway, the population makeup has changed a lot, like in Hood River, there's not many old-timers anymore, mainly new people coming in, you know. And the younger ones are, I think, pretty good.

LT: What was it like to return to the community where you were raised, and to realize there are so many who are anti, whose actions are against you as a veterans, and you and your family and other Japanese Americans are treated this way and discouraged from making your homes here again. What is that like?

SA: I don't know. I just don't think about it as much maybe as I should. I try to just be myself, that's about it, you know.

LT: How did your family deal with that, especially your mother and your father?

SA: Oh, I don't know. I think my mom is pretty liberal. I don't think she harbors much grudge or something like that, you know. She kind of lets it slide by, but I don't think my dad might a little bit, but actually, there's no sense to harbor any grudge, 'cause you're gonna have it now and then, whatever, you know.

LT: Well, as you continue to live in the valley, what did you do to build more positive relationships with your neighbors and the store owners?

SA: Oh, I don't know if I did anything. But just be yourself, that's about all you can do, you know.

LT: Yeah, that makes sense. How do you think Japanese Americans in Hood River were able to persevere? This is beyond the Issei, but how did they persevere dealing with so much prejudice after the war?

SA: Oh, I don't know. Well, like they say in Japanese, gaman, meaning "hang in there," that's about it, I guess.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.