Interviews

1. Encountering racial discrimination at a public swimming pool

2. Loss of happy-go-lucky adolescence in Puyallup Assembly Center

3. Memories of dusty conditions at Minidoka incarceration camp

4. Making the decision to resist the draft

5. Thoughts on redress

6. Starting over after the war: denial of all things Japanese

7. Have compassion for all of humanity

8. Thoughts on post-9/11 atmosphere: what it means to be American

Yamasaki,Frank

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

Memories of dusty conditions at Minidoka incarceration camp

It was very, very dusty. The dust was powdery fine and if I recall, it was about 3 or 4 inches deep. So you just, every time you take a step, you would just have a puff of smoke -- I mean, of dust -- and if you have even the slightest breeze... wow, you're in, like a fog. And when you go to the mess hall to eat, of course, when you chew the food, you can... you can feel the grit of the sand. And it's amazing, even that, you get used to it. I gradually got used to the mixture of sand and food.

Idaho Minidoka (city) United States World War II World War II camps

Date: August 18, 1997

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Lori Hoshino, Stephen Fugita

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei male. Born 1923 in Seattle, Washington. Spent prewar childhood in South Park and Belltown areas of Seattle. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and Minidoka incarceration camp, Idaho. Refused to participate in draft, imprisoned at McNeil Island Penitentiary, Washington, for resisting the draft. Resettled in Seattle.

*The full interview is available Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.