By 1941 my dad was in America on his own; his brother’s family had returned to Hiroshima, where his mother and sisters still lived. My dad was working days and going to school at night, one of the single young men in Japantown who often benefited from my grandmother’s open-door policy when it came to feeding guests.
My mom and dad’s first date was on December 6, 1941. They went to see a Jack Oakie football movie. My mother must have been smitten as this was not at all her kind of film. After the movie they were going to go to Blum’s, but couldn’t find parking, so they went all the way out to the Koffee Kup on 18th and Geary. On their next date, they went to see her choice, “How Green Was My Valley.”
My dad had received his draft notice before the attack on Pearl Harbor and reported for duty in January. While my mother and her family were incarcerated in Tanforan, and then Topaz, he was stationed at places like Camp Barkeley, Texas; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; and Fort Riley in Kansas. They stayed in touch through letters. In November 1942 he visited my mother at Topaz while on furlough.
Nov. 13, ’42
To Tomi Takahashi, 4-5-E, Central Utah Relocation Project, Topaz, Utah
From S. Sasaki, Ft. Riley, Kansas
Tomi-chan,
I got back safe & in time so I didn’t have to go to guard house or no A.W.O.L…Train reached Salt Lake City 7:45 pm which left Delta 3:45 pm & Ogden 8:15 pm. Cheyenne 9:45 am on 12th & left there 11:55 am. reached Denver 3:30 pm & left there 5 pm. reached Junction City 6:00 am on 13th. Still had about 19 hours left so I could’ve stayed with you 19 hours more…
Nov. 14, ‘42
On the day I came back from my furlough I did K.P. What a life…
Oh! what a sad world this is but let’s keep our chins up always & wait for our future happy day…
I will never tire of reading stories of how two people meet and fall in love, the circumstances and background, how their lives were brought together.
the stories are especially savored and remembered when those of our own parents. they become part of your own shared family history, but those stories form threads that bind us to all people.
so, thankyou for sharing with us, Ruth.
Thanks, Barbara. Knowing the outlines of my mom and dad’s story helped me to better understand the small part of it that I was privileged to share with them.
A beautiful story, Ruth. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Sheila—great to hear from you!