I was four at the time. My sister Naomi was two. We don’t remember much of that time. Like many of the Issei, our parents never spoke about the evacuation so we didn’t know too much about it or how it affected our parents and family.
My father never spoke about it. All that I know now is what I learned from my mother much later in her life. Early on in my life, she never spoke of it either. In hindsight, I wish they were here today so I could learn more of their experiences.
Question: So before that, did you know very much?
Jean: No, I don’t think so.
Janice: Because my parents never talked about it. Especially dad.
Jean: It was especially hard on my husband. He kept asking: “When are we going home?” when he was on the farms in Manitoba. At a young age, he would write letters to different politicians. Even when we came here after retirement, he was still writing them. I think the war and evacuation affected him all his life. He had depression later on in life and it was not a good thing.
