<Begin Segment 3>

HH: So it was while you were in medical school that Pearl Harbor took place?

HT: That is correct. Pearl Harbor took place while I was in medical school.

HH: What kind of impact does that make in your life? It probably made a big impact on the rest of the family, but there you were in Boston, how did it affect you?

HT: Well, of course, it was a shocker to me, and I knew subsequently my parents and my family were evacuated from Tacoma, and some of them did go to camp. But being in Boston and attending medical school, I did not experience any problem while attending school. But the one thing that I recall, right after Pearl Harbor, I recall there were two Niseis who were admitted to the freshman class at the Boston University School of Medicine. Well, for some reason, their admission was cancelled. And that bothered me no end, so I did go to see the dean and inquired how come once they were accepted, their acceptance was denied. And he couldn't give me a good answer, and these two friends, one of them I knew quite well, who was from Tacoma, Washington, and they just had to wait two or three more years before they were admitted to medical school. I was afraid that I might even be asked to leave school, but fortunately, I was able to complete my schooling.

HH: During the time after Pearl Harbor, many of the Japanese families had their bank assets and such frozen. Did that affect the financing of your medical school education?

HT: Well, I knew that my father had some money in Japanese banks, but by and large, except for a few loans that I received from my father, I did have a part, a scholarship, tuition scholarship in medical school which helped a lot. And I had some savings from my summer employment back home, so I was able to graduate from medical school without too much outside help.

HH: What kind of summer employment did you have?

HT: Well, during my last year in high school, I believe, and first year in college as I recall, I went up to Alaska to work in a salmon cannery. And you probably do recall that in those days, we made about three hundred dollars a summer, and that was big money. I still recall to this day, when we used to work overtime in the salmon cannery for twenty-five cents an hour, and we were glad to earn that.

HH: I see, so you did that for two summers.

HT: I did, yes. And of course that helped to pay my college tuition, which was quite reasonable at that time. And since I went to college in my hometown, I was able to commute to college, and I had no living expense to speak of.

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