Title
Yoshiro Tokiwa oral history interview, part 2 of 3, October 14, 2007
Description
When Pearl Harbor is bombed on December 7, 1941, the lives of the Tokiwa family change. Yoshiro Tokiwa discusses the aftermath of the attack.
Few days after the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese Americans' status changes to 4C, enemy aliens. In addition, there are restrictions such as traveling and curfew hours.
Yoshiro recalls preparing and leaving for evacuation when President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066. The Tokiwa family goes to the Salinas Assembly Center and then to Poston, Arizona. Yoshiro says they are only allowed to bring what they can carry.
At Poston, Yoshiro works as a security guard and then in the agriculture department. In camp, all the internees are given a loyalty questionnaire. Yoshiro explains the no-no boys and deportation.
In 1944, Yoshiro is drafted. He shares his experience of being inducted and going to basic training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Yoshiro discusses the segregation in Mississippi.
At the end of Yoshiro's military career, he is a Technician 5th Grade (Corporal level). Yoshiro is discharged from the Army in January 1947, from Camp Beale, CA.