"Wase Time!"

"Wase Time!" is an autobiography of my teen age years in Gila River Internment Center, Arizona. I tell my story in the first person and I include much of the humor and conversation that was popular at that time.

My story begins with the aftermath of Sunday, December 7, 1941. On Monday, the 8th, I was relieved of my 6th grade job raising the American flag.

On March 28, 1942, my family and I moved to Del Rey, California, which was in the "Free Zone". In July, we were told all those of Japanese ancestry would have to leave California. On August 6, we were evacuated to Gila, except for my mom who was 8 months pregnant.

Gila was a big center made up of two camps: camp 1 (Canal), and camp 2 (Butte). We lived briefly in Canal, then moved to Butte because of my dad's job.

I made friends with my neighbors, and Hank introduced me to many youth who were from the French Camp/Stockton area. I became a member of the Ramblers, a team which played may sports, and we won the championship of the Southwestern Football League in 1943-44.

Other happy memories were my mom and sister's arrival from Fresno Assembly Center, movie night, the warehouse gang, the Boy Scouts, and my getting a response to a fan letter that I wrote to Maureen O'Hara.

Sad memories include Hank's departure to Tule Lake Relocation Center, my being called a "nigger", and what I did with the letter and photos of Maureen O'Hara.

On March 28, 1945, my grandfather and I left Gila to go to Chicago, Illinois, to visit relatives. I was send out of camp for being an unsavory character, according to my mom. On the train ride, I thought of all my experiences in camp. Was being in camp "wase time"?