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LG: So when Pearl Harbor happened, and moving into these camps, did you understand what was happening? Did your parents try to explain anything to you?

AN: No, they didn't even understand why Pearl Harbor got bombed, except what was in the news. And that was, in some ways, like 9/11, it just caught the public by surprise, and we could watch it on newsreels later on, there was no instant television or anything like that. And so for most of the communities, white or Asian, it was baffling. And there were some people who were much more knowledgeable about international events, just took in stride, okay, World War II is starting. So the average public, I think they were just dumbfounded, they didn't know what the hell was happening. And so when Executive Order 9066 got signed, it finally came down, and saying, "Okay, we're really in a war." And the government had decided that if you were an immigrant or descendant of an immigrant from Japan, you were under huge suspicion.

LG: Do you remember preparing to leave the assembly center at all?

AN: Well, as a little kid, you just follow what your parents say, you know, pack your stuff and whatever, suitcases, pack your clothes and all that. You follow orders. After all, you're only a little kid. And my brothers were younger, so I think my brother Tom was barely wearing trousers and stuff like that. He was only one and a half or whatever. So memories of details are, various things, of that timeframe.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.