Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/689/

Japanese American railroad workers are fired following the bombing of Pearl Harbor

The FBI—my dad, in order to get to his mail job at Great Northern Railroad, had to go under the United Union Pacific, the Milwaukee Railroad tracks. And it was railroad track that came right through into Spokane. Great Northern was a block north of that station, Union Pacific, but Union Pacific was all on girders. And they came in, you had to walk up to the railroad station, and underneath, we had to walk through to get to the employment, railroad. And the FBI says, “No, you can't do that. You can't be caught walking under a bridge, we're afraid you might bomb it.” And so they fired every one of the Japanese, and there were a couple of Italians working there, Felice and Mancheny, Clark, were working there. And they couldn't handle, even with the new, whoever they hired for the mail, the mail was all screwed up, it was going all over the country instead of to the right destination. So after, I think, thirty days, they had to rehire all the Japanese again, so the mail started to run in the direction they were supposed to be going.


discrimination interpersonal relations racism railroads World War II

Date: March 15 & 16, 2006

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Megan Asaka

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei male. Born 1923 in Spokane, Washington. Spent childhood in downtown Spokane where parents ran the World Hotel. Father also worked as a mail handler for the Great Northern Railroad. Attended Lewis and Clark High School and Washington State University. During the war remembers seeing train cars pass through Spokane with Japanese Americans headed to Heart Mountain incarceration camp, Wyoming. Drafted into the army in 1944 and served at the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Fort Snelling, Minnesota and Presidio, California. After World War II, worked as a chick sexer in upstate New York and surrounding region for thirty years. Returned to Spokane in the mid-1970s and pursued a career in real estate. Currently lives with wife, Susie, in Spokane and is an active fly fisherman. (March 16, 2006 )

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Hearing anti-American war propaganda from a teacher

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

Sasaki,Fred

Family background of Fredrick Yoshihide Sasaki

(b. 1918) Issei businessman in Canada

Sasaki,Fred

Anti-Japanese sentiment at the time of World War II

(b. 1918) Issei businessman in Canada

Kodama,Ryoichi

Affect of the World War II (Japanese)

Kasato-maru immigrants

Herzig,Aiko Yoshinaga

Lack of political power led to camps

(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist

Herzig,Aiko Yoshinaga

Feeling imprisoned at camp

(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist

Ota,Vince

Different tension between East Coast and Los Angeles

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

Terasaki,Paul

His experiences in Chicago after WWII

(b.1929) Pioneer medical researcher in tissue transfer and organ transplantation.

Inahara,Toshio

Classified 4C - enemy alien

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

Kobayashi,Bert A.

Less information about Hawai‘i in mainland

(b.1944) Founder of Kobayashi Group, LLC

Hohri,William

Trying to get back into camp

(1927-2010) Political Activist

Akutsu,Gene

A teenager's memories of how a local newspaper misrepresented Japanese Americans

(b. 1925) Draft resister

Akutsu,Gene

Reaction of Japanese American community toward draft resistance stance

(b. 1925) Draft resister

Akutsu,Gene

The role of the media in influencing people's opinions

(b. 1925) Draft resister

Yuzawa,George Katsumi

Reaction to a 1942 speech by Mike Masaoka, Japanese American Citizen League's National Secretary

(1915 - 2011) Nisei florist who resettled in New York City after WW II. Active in Japanese American civil rights movement