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HH: And so when the war broke out on December 7, you went eventually from Salinas to the assembly center at the rodeo grounds. And then from there, where did you go after your time in the Salinas Assembly Center?

GI: In April, we were first sent to the Salinas Assembly Center at the rodeo grounds, and on July 3rd of 1944, were put on a train to Poston, Arizona, the permanent relocation center.

HH: What do you recall about those days from December 7th until that day in April when you moved into the assembly center?

GI: Well, I think the days between December 7, 1941, until April 1942, they were trying days, not knowing what to expect next. There are rumors flying every day, both with the media as well as among the Nikkei population, was enough to give people ulcers.

HH: Did you have any difficulty in making that move or storing or getting rid of your property?

GI: Yes, we did. I think... although, getting rid of our property, we didn't have any real estate because I was not old enough to own land, and the land was leased by an older Nisei. But Dad had a difficult time putting his farm equipment up for sale, and also some of our household belongings. But fortunately, we had a very kind neighbor that agreed to keep a lot of things for us, which came in handy after the war, because we had quite a bit of our household goods shipped to us in New Jersey. And also a truck that we stored was used by a friend of ours that went back to California and started farming, and he made good use of that truck.

HH: All told, how many months did you spend in the combined time in Salinas and Poston?

GI: How many months did I spend combined assembly center and Poston? Well, starting in April, and until June of... April of '42 until June of '44, that would be about twenty-six months.

HH: So you were in for twenty-six months. During that time, did you ever get out for some kind of work leave, or did you stay in most of the time?

GI: I did... during that two, little over two years, I asked for a temporary leave to visit a cousin in another relocation center to talk about possibly moving out together to some point in a non-restricted zone. Other than that, I don't recall leaving the camp.

HH: What kind of area would be included in a non-restricted zone?

GI: What kind of area would be included in a non-restricted zone? Well, it was an area described by General DeWitt, and that would have been any point east of the three Pacific states.

HH: I see. Okay, as long as you're off the Pacific Coast.

GI: Yes.

HH: That'd be Oregon, Washington, California.

GI: Right?

HH: Did that work out, did you talk to your cousin?

GI: No. We had... our discussion kind of went awry because my cousin had different ideas about where they wanted to go, as opposed to where we would have liked to have gone. My cousin having to come from Los Angeles, and they wanted to get into a metropolitan area. We, coming from Salinas, were looking towards a more rural community, so we did not have a meeting of the mind. So that discussion fell through.

HH: All right.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 1994 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.