Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River

Oral History Methodology

x i i i Oral History Methodology T hey were quiet, modest men who were more comfortable puttering in their gardens than speaking into microphones. From others , I knew they had overcome tremendous difficulties—but those stories seemed locked in their minds. Might they be willing to bare their souls and help someone from another generation examine the legacy of Nisei (second generation) veterans? I had a few advantages. The mothers of three of them were among the people I had interviewed for my book on the Hood River Issei (first generation)—and all had seemed exuberant about their participation. Two were relatives: my father and my uncle, who admitted that they would talk about their military past only because I was their daughter and niece. So my initial goal was to make it safe—even invigorating—for the men to reflect on their past. We began at my parents’ home in Hood River. Three Nisei (my dad, Harry Tamura; my uncle, Mam Noji; and George Akiyama) sat on the living room sofa and even agreed to let a friend, Tim Rooney, videotape our interviews. (I’d met with each independently and secured their written agreements and survey information.) We began with collective questions about their lives as retirees and then moved to their early schooling, their parents, and World War II. They answered spontaneously; a response from one generally prompted elaboration from the others. (We all lunched on Mom’s delicious chow mein afterward.) Two days later, I interviewed the trio at other venues: Panorama Point overlooking the valley orchards, x i v  Or a l H i s t o r y M e t h o d o l o g y where they spoke of their Issei parents’ early labor and influence in their lives; Frank Hachiya’s gravesite at Idlewilde Cemetery, where they spoke of his sacrifice and saluted him; and a valley orchard, where they immediately examined the trees and reminisced about life as farmers. After that, they were each willing to be interviewed one-on-one in their homes. Later on, I audiotaped interviews with other Nisei veterans and then expanded to their siblings and finally to members of the mainstream Hood River community, hoping to gain as many viewpoints as possible. Making contact with two Nisei discipline barrack boys (imprisoned for insubordination ) added a new dimension. After several phone conversations, I met each in Los Angeles for more extensive, face-to-face interviews. One of them, who had been very open on the phone, was hesitant about being tape-recorded, confiding, “I’m not a public person.” Eventually he agreed because, he said, “You asked” and “I just want the story out.” Interviewing non-Nikkei residents brought its own challenges. My friend Joan Yasui Emerson graciously joined me, interviewing eleven locals. It became clear, however, that some who spoke with us were reluctant to uncover the full story; a few became evasive about or “forgot” details of their own involvement. Similar to Hood River Nisei, I developed my own internal radar for sensing people’s reluctance, even misgivings, about conveying their feelings or discussing actions of the past. A stranger once approached me with a simple “I know who you are.” There were definitely stories that were inaccessible to me, but I am indebted to those who were willing to share theirs. Obtaining a range of oral history testimonies gave me access to candid, personal stories that led to a fuller examination of issues contributing to Hood River’s story. This process required that I prepare fully in order to ask open-ended, neutral, objective questions that respected the integrity of each person while also examining different viewpoints. Such interviews led to often surprising access to documents and photos but also required further investigation in order to answer other questions or verify details, the reason I often cited several sources in my notes. (This included examining and cataloging citations from various newspapers, including the Hood River News and other local publications.) Ultimately, my goal was to examine all sides of an issue so that I could present a more balanced picture . When inserting quotations in the text, I did sometimes make minor editorial changes intended to clarify an interviewee’s point (for example, replacing pronouns or adding assumed words) or to reduce redundancy. Or a l H i s t o r y M e t h o d o...