<Begin Segment 17>

LT: You were in camp, and then you served in the military. How did your wartime experience change you?

TT: Only thing I could think of is we got to meet a lot of friends, got to know a lot of people that otherwise, if we just stuck in Hood River, we'd have never known. So nowadays, anywhere you go, you know somebody. Yeah, lot of people that you knew in camp, so lot of friends nowadays. That was a good thing.

LT: So there was a good part. What was the bad part?

TT: Only bad part I can think of is if you went out of camp to some town, you were called names and stuff like that. I know even trying to pick a fight, and so in Twin Falls, went to Twin Falls with my friends, and this one soldier, he was drunk, and he was trying to pick a fight with my friend and he's telling about, saying something about his buddy got killed in Japan in the Pacific. Then this guy, he said, "My cousin was killed in the Pacific, too," or something. But that guy kept trying to pick a fight with him. Finally a cab driver, just right near the front of the cab stand, cab driver came up and he kind of broke that guy up. But when he came out, all kinds of guys started coming around us, something's going on, got interested, anyway. Before, they were just walking by and think nothing of two guys arguing. But when that cab driver stopped the guy from picking on us, then a whole mess of guys started huddling around us, this kind of thing.

And then we went out to work in Filer in the spring, got a job, he came into camp and wanted some labor, so we went out, six, eight of us, I guess. Then they took us out there, but then, to come back to Twin Falls, we had to catch a bus. But you get on the bus and you get a funny feeling because somebody's going to say something to you. So I hated to ride the bus, somebody was going to say something.

LT: What should we learn from what happened to Japanese Americans during the war?

TT: I don't really know.

LT: Okay.

TT: Not much you can do. If two countries get into war, there's nothing, not much you can do about it. So I can't think of anything, what to say.

LT: Okay, one last question. What's important in life?

TT: Right now? Trying to stay healthy, I guess.

LT: And what are you doing to stay healthy?

TT: Oh, trying not to overdo things. And I even try not to eat too much, smaller portion. I should exercise, I guess, but I don't exercise.

LT: Well, you've got a big lawn to mow.

TT: Huh?

LT: You have a big lawn to mow.

TT: Yeah, that's my exercise in the summertime, weeding the bushes and flowers and stuff like that. So then, well, up 'til lately, I was pretty active cutting trees and hauling them to the dump and stuff like that, taking a chainsaw and cutting things. This lady, she's surprised I was... at that time I was eighty-seven, she was surprised that I did all that kind of work. I guess I was doing a little bit of work.

LT: Keep healthy. Thank you very much, Taylor.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.