James K. Nagatani (Dr) interview

              NARRATOR: DR. JAMES K. NAGATANI
INTERVIEWER: BOB NAGATANI
DATE: September 8, 1999
BN: … September 8, 1999, and the interview is being done in Delano, California. Now, would you please state your full name?
JN: I’m James K. Nagatani, Jim for short.
BN: Let’s talk a little bit about life before World War II. Like, where in Japan did Dad come from?
JN: Dad is Sugamatsu. He was born near Hiroshima in a village called Wasaka and born in 1885. As I say, he was born on a small farm there. He was one of eight siblings, six boys—he was the youngest of them. And it was at the time when, economically, all people in Japan were in a difficult time and many of them wanted to, and they did migrate to foreign countries. And Dad’s five brothers took off to Australia, South America, and U.S. too, and other countries, whereas Dad stayed home and he wanted to teach. So he, and he was qualified to teach. He had a sufficient amount of education. He did teach for a while, but he found that he really didn’t like it, and he wanted to be like his brothers and migrate, too.
BN: So when did he come to the United States? Do you know what year he came over here?
JN: He was a young man. In 1903, he migrated to Hawaii, although he really wanted to come to America. But he couldn’t come directly here, so he went by way of being under the employment of a group in Hawaii. So he got there in 1903 and stayed there a couple of years and then he migrated on a ship to San Francisco in 1905.
BN: So, where did he first settle in the United States? And, what kind of work did he do? 2 NAGATANI
JN: Well, after he landed in San Francisco—he came in a group of immigrants—they looked around and did various kinds of work, whatever was available: working on a farm and road work and such. One point came in a group, came to Delano under contract to a railroad. And they stayed overnight in Delano to begin work the following day, but during the night there were some local group came to where they were staying and started to fire guns in the air and threatened them with their life if they didn’t leave Delano. So in the next day, that’s what they did. They didn’t want to stay in a place like that. They returned to Fresno area and continued to look for work. And they did, working on a farm, probably even in restaurants and washing dishes, et cetera. That continued till about 1912, I believe, when he bought a piece of land northeast of Delano near Ducor, a twenty-acre piece of land. And they bought some small orange trees and they cultivated that and they planted in that twenty acres, him and a relative and another person jointly. It was a joint venture. Part of the cost was defrayed by a loan from a rancher named James Reed. Not much more I can say about him. So they began their career as a farmer. Soon after that I think the partner returned to Japan, so Father was left alone to take care of the farm.
BN: Okay. Where in Japan was Mother from?
JN: She was from the same area. I believe the whole family kind of knew each other. And of course, this was the time of picture brides. It was difficult for the ladies to come over otherwise, so picture bride was one way of doing it. I believe that’s how Mother came to the United States. And they were married here and had all of us children within X number of years. I was the second oldest, George was the—oldest. He was born in 1916, I believe, because I was born in 1917. 3 NAGATANI
BN: All right. When did Mother come to the United States?
JN: Well, it had to be before George was born, and about the time, soon after probably, the orange grove was planted. That would be after 1912, so—
BN: Okay. Now, Mother was a picture bride, you said. Did they know each other in Japan? Do you know that? I mean, Father and Mother, did they know each other?
JN: I really don’t think so. They were too young to have known each other before he left Japan. He was too busy working and buying the land and everything, so he didn’t have much time to go back to (inaudible) any eligible girls. So, an arrangement had to be made so that she could become the bride of Sugamatsu (??). An arrangement was the thing that was done; at that time, it was the normal thing.
BN: At what port did she arrive in United States?
JN: Hmm, I suppose in San Francisco. But a lot of the ships landed in Seattle, so I’m not positive. I can’t recall.
BN: Okay. You already said Father’s permanent occupation was a farmer.
JN: Yes.
BN: Then what did Mother do?
JN: Why, she was busy raising children and farming, too, ‘cause both of them worked seven days out of the week in order to make the orange grove prosper enough for the family. And in the meanwhile while the orange grove was developing, they planted vegetables between the rows and they sold that. And they used it for the family use, to finance the family affairs.
BN: Okay. Now, when World War II broke out, your parents were interned. Can you tell us where they were interned? 4 NAGATANI
JN: Hmm, funny thing, I can’t say exactly. I think he was shuttled around and eventually landed in New Mexico, I believe. Crystal—
BN: That was Dad?
JN: Yeah.
BN: Where was the family interned then?
JN: Oh, family was interned first in Fresno fairground in 1942 in about April, May. The rest of us, there were nine in the family, so eight less the father, were interned in Fresno Assembly Center.
BN: And then where were they transferred to?
JN: In maybe October, November, the Fresno Assembly Center residents were transferred to Jerome, Arkansas, by way of train, the southern route. I was one of the last ones to leave the Fresno Assembly Center; we helped to close it down. I think we got there, November in Jerome.
BN: In your opinion, what were the economic losses as a result of this evacuation?
JN: Overall, it was a tremendous loss to the people who had business, had farms, equipment, homes. Gosh, it must have been a tremendous loss. Fortunately, we were in Delano and—oh, I have to go back a ways. We were in Ducor until 1940 and we moved to Delano in 1940, sold the orange grove and came to Delano to buy an open field. And—what was the question?
BN: What were the economic losses as a result—
JN: But our land, well, we had just started to develop it. Dad had, it seems like a premonition or thought enough with a plan to return, so he asked a neighboring farmer who were very kind and understanding and he had Mr. Dave Andreas, he helped Dad to retain the field 5 NAGATANI
that we had—I can’t remember whether it was a quarter section—near Andreas’ home and gave him the power of attorney and he, in turn, leased it while we were away in camp. So, the loss was not as great as most of the evacuees experienced.
BN: Do you recall when the family returned back to the farm?
JN: It was in 1945. I was not among that. I was still in dental school in Detroit, but I know they returned and started continuing back on the farm.
BN: Now, before and after World War II, what kind of activities within the community were our parents involved?
JN: Well, parents were involved mostly, the Japanese group—before the war, there was (telephone ringing) quite a number of Japanese in the Delano community businesses. It was a big enough group to have a Gakuen or a school where they taught culture and language, Japanese culture and language. So he was involved in that primarily, beside the farm work which occupied the biggest part of his time, of course.
BN: Now what would you say [were] the parents’ greatest achievements and contributions to the community?
JN: Well, he being what I consider a very successful farmer, he expanded in the meanwhile, they got back and they built the packing shed in the Delano community itself. And what they grew out in the field, especially cantaloupe time, it was brought into the packing- house and they hired a lot of people to pack the cantaloupes. And there were workers who loaded the packaged cantaloupes in crates into the railroad cars. And of course, there were truckers who brought in the cantaloupe or other commodities that were raised on the farm; they brought it in for packaging and shipping. So there were a number of 6 NAGATANI
farmers, they were all helping to upgrade the economic conditions in the local community by providing employment.
BN: Let’s talk about you now, switch over to you as the interviewee. Where and when were you born?
JN: I was born high on the citrus grove that Dad raised in Ducor, near Ducor, about a mile northeast of Ducor, on December 18, 1917.
BN: How many siblings do you have and where do you rank in age?
JN: There were seven of us children, six boys and a girl. The girl, Lily, was in between the three older and three younger ones. I was second from the top. I was second oldest.
BN: So, now where are your brothers now, and your sister? Where are they and what do they do?
JN: Brothers, well, a couple of them have retired. But, the youngest was a dentist like I am. And two left in Delano, Ben and Ed, they were farming, they stayed farming. And George, the oldest, moved to the L.A. area and was working for IBM after he left here. Roy, Roy was a salesman like in the cosmetic product area. My sister Lily, she had gone—like a lot of the girls did, they took up sewing and all that in the L.A. area. She had gone to the University of Wisconsin, I believe, when the family was in camp.
BN: Okay, now. Are all your siblings alive today?
JN: One, the oldest, passed away, let’s see, about eleven, twelve years ago. And then the rest of us are still here.
BN: Now, what elementary school did you attend? 7 NAGATANI
JN: I went to elementary school in Ducor at a two-class grammar school, one downstairs and one upstairs. So, two teachers: one taught all the classes downstairs, the other taught the other upper grades in the upper classroom.
BN: Did you feel that you were a good student in school?
JN: Oh, I feel I was. I feel competent. In fact, I knew farming was not my talent, so I stuck to the books and tried to get a, learn as much as I can in school.
BN: At Ducor Elementary School, how were you treated?
JN: Well, I think I enjoyed my life connected with school. I had the most help and the most encouragement. I can’t remember much problem associated with school.
BN: Now, were you invited to the homes of the Caucasian families with children your age?
JN: Probably not very often. But I knew a lot of them and on occasion, I recall some Halloween we went to visit another farmer’s family. And a good friend about a half a mile away used to come over and we used to shoot BB guns and play a different thing. And I recall another family used to have a small pool or reservoir made out of concrete in the backyard and recently, I looked at a picture where we were enjoying cooling off on a summer day. I can recall that and enjoyed it. But overall, we didn’t have much time to play, and we weren’t home (inaudible) but we did get together at times. I guess we were all busy seven days out of the week working on the farm doing something.
BN: Did the teachers treat you decently?
JN: Oh, yeah. They were most encouraging. The teachers, of course, naturally liked to see their students do well, and Dad and Mother were very adamant about getting education, so they encouraged us to study as hard as we can. I enjoyed reading books and 8 NAGATANI
everything. There was a small library in Ducor, so I used to visit it quite often and read all kinds of fiction and non-fiction. I enjoyed that.
BN: As a child growing up in Ducor, did you consider yourself Japanese, Japanese-American, or an American?
JN: Oh, I suppose when I was younger I figure I was like anybody else. We didn’t think we were much different from anybody else. I think that’s normal. Perhaps as we got older, we could see that we were different and maybe people’s association with, you know, changing as we grew older. But in school, especially, the other kids and teachers, you know, they treated us real good.
BN: Would you say the parents had contact with the school in any way at all?
JN: Well, they really didn’t have much time. Mother was busy working on the farm and then after she gets home, she’s busy cooking or doing a lot of chores about the house. Dad once in a while came to school functions, as I recall. And one thing I can remember distinctly, during the season—it would be winter, I guess, oranges were ripe, he’d bring a box of oranges for Christmas program and other programs like that. He would donate that. I guess in a way, it makes us happy that he was able to do that.
BN: Now, did you participate in any sports in school?
JN: No, I was not much of an athlete, I knew that. I didn’t enjoy baseball or anything they had. They had those programs. I never tried to participate in them. And, not being skillful at it, well—on the other hand, I wasn’t asked to participate.
BN: Okay, now after Ducor Grammar School, where did you go to high school?
JN: In Porterville, it’s about twelve miles. We rode a bus from Ducor. It took us an hour to get there, because we went by diverse routes through the countryside picking up students 9 NAGATANI
on the way down. We went to Porterville Union High School; that’s where I went to high school.
BN: Okay, you said you weren’t involved in any sports. Were you involved in student politics?
JN: No, that was not my liking, either. Primarily, I just studied what you’re supposed to study, I guess—history, English, et cetera, foreign language.
BN: Now, in your teenage years, did you come across any notable problem that you remember or any joy that you may have experienced? This is as a teenager.
JN: I really can’t remember. All I know is after school, this is high school, we’d get back on the bus and from there we had to go to the fields and there was plenty of work to do that’d keep us busy. It’s not for entertainment so, it’s not what we’d look for.
BN: Hmm. Now, I don’t know if this is in your memory bank, but did you have any chores that you had to do after school at home?
JN: I’m sure we had—well, George had leghorn chickens for a high school project and of course, we helped him clean the yard and the chicken pen, et cetera, but we also had all kinds of chickens running around the yard and in the grove. We had a vegetable garden, so we could weed those, irrigate them, we did all kinds of help that was necessary to keep the family together and feed them and so forth. There was a lot to do.
BN: When you were going to school, and did you get any jobs that you could get paid or was most of the time spent on the farm or when you weren’t working.
JN: Well, I was mostly working on the farm. But I do remember on occasion, that some friend’s family, you know, they raised, they had dry farming. They planted wheat, all kinds of big acreage. There was this weed that would be growing among their wheat and 10 NAGATANI
I remember going working with someone, I can’t remember who, but we went and cut the milkweed, jasmine, tumbleweed in the fields and pulled them and took them out. Another kind of work, the neighbor had a vineyard, a Thompson vineyard which Dad kind of managed and took care of, and the time came for the Thompsons to be picked and to dry on the trays. Well, we went to work cutting the grapes and putting them on trays. Then after they dried, we hauled the trays and loaded on the trailer that was driven by, my brother did that. A couple of us loaded up the raisins that had dried under the sun, and brought them in before the rainy season come.
BN: How would you best describe your childhood and teenage years at home, in school, and in the community?
JN: Well, in the first place, I guess if you wanted to join some Japanese community activity, there were no Japanese in Ducor. So there weren’t much opportunity there. But on the weekend, we drove to Delano and they had that, Gakuen, that Japanese school, where we attended on Saturdays and Sundays. I forgot your question on that.
BN: Oh, how would you best describe your childhood at home, in school, and in the community?
JN: That’s about it. In Ducor on Sundays, at a younger age, like elementary, we used to attend a Baptist church in Delano. That was the only church there was. We attended that on a number of Sundays, as I remember.
BN: We were in a very unique situation in that we were going to school, what, seven days a week? I wonder if you could kind of describe that and what were your feelings about that at the time? 11 NAGATANI
JN: School, regular school, of course everybody goes. We had no choice in it. But on the weekend, we went to the Japanese school, if that’s what you meant. We were encouraged, or our arm was twisted to attend by our parents. So we don’t argue, we just do it. And one of the brothers would drive the car and we would go to Delano. There were other families up in Terra Bella hills, they used to come by and pick us up or we used to take them and we used to go to Delano to learn Japanese language and culture. You know, as a kid you have fun no matter what you do. But I’m not saying I got very much out of the weekend school. I regret it now. I wish I learned, would have taken it more seriously. I didn’t see the need for it at that time.
BN: Now, I’ve been told that—you went to school in Porterville, and I was told that they used to have signs, “Japs keep out.” Did you personally experience prejudice at any time you were at school in Porterville?
JN: No, in school you rarely find that, I think. All the teenagers were busy with teenager things. They were not politicians after political goals that some of them do, and I was told there were signs for Japs to keep out. I didn’t personally see it, but it must have been there if they say so. But I didn’t experience anything, at least it doesn’t stick to my mind. The teachers, especially, were all very nice, understanding, and encouraging. But on the other hand, I was not much of a social person, and I didn’t belong to too many organizations so I can’t say that I was discriminated because (inaudible). Besides, as I said, we had to get on the bus back to Ducor, and once you got home, you had plenty of things to do.
BN: Now, did you go on to college? And if you did, where did you go and what was your major? 12 NAGATANI
JN: Well, see, after graduating from Porterville High School, I went to Porterville Junior College and I took science for background. I was preparing for a biological career. So I took zoology, geology, and I really enjoyed most of that. I had a really good geology teacher in Porterville, and we went on a mini excursion to a different part of the state. And we even camped out and that made a very good impression. I wish I would have gone into some geological area of occupation. But a biological career was more on my mind. So I went to school for two years in the college in Porterville.
BN: Okay now. World War II obviously interrupted your higher education. Can you kind of fill us in on where you were immediately at the outset of war and where did you have to move later?
JN: Well anyway, after Porterville Junior College, I went to Berkeley, California, and went to the University of California and finished two years there and got my degree, my B.A. degree. And then in 1940, after we moved down from the Ducor area to the Delano area, I helped farm and I was kind of assistant to the carpenter. So we built the house that we lived [in] there. About, let’s see, the next year, 1941, well anyway, I went to the University of California dental school. I started that because the draft board gave me permission to do so, and that was before Pearl Harbor day. I was going to dental school already in San Francisco, University of California Dental School, and so that was started far before—
BN: Can you briefly describe what life, college life, was like for you?
JN: Well, education always had been my favorite subject, I’m (inaudible). So whatever happened, I thought it was part of the learning process. And I didn’t take anything that happened too personally. I didn’t think everybody was trying to do anything to me 13 NAGATANI
because the students and the teachers were all, they were all good and helped me all along. I had no reason to feel bad about it.
BN: Now, after you graduated from dental college, did you have a tough time finding a job? What was your experience in that area then?
JN: Well, the draft board had said I could finish school, and after school, the understanding was that I would have to serve in the army or wherever. So after the—four years of dental school we did in three years and after that, most of us joined the service ‘cause that’s what we were preparing for. Most of the students’ expenses were then taken care of by the armed forces—of course, I didn’t have that means. But I count myself very fortunate in the fact that I could attend a dental school. I guess I could have been a whole lot worse off. I could have been drafted and sent to parts unknown, you know. So I enjoyed dental school.
BN: Okay, so you were drafted after you graduated. That was your obligation. How many years did you have to serve in the military?
JN: Oh, two years was all that was expected, I believe, ‘cause that’s all we had to serve. The war had finished in what, in ’45, and I graduated in ’46. I went to the army air force base in San Antonio, back on the air force base, from ’46 to ’48, served two years and that was all that was expected of me. That’s what I did. You can ask me a question.
BN: Okay now, where did you relocate following your service, the stint with the military?
JN: I was discharged in September of ’48. And I got married in October of the same year to a very pretty girl that I met in Detroit while I was going to dental school. Nothing came of it, but when I was in the service, I visited her and got to know her real well, her and her mother. Eventually we decided to get married and that’s what we did. And right after 14 NAGATANI
that, we moved to Detroit and we were planning to resettle there and start a practice there. When we started, I worked with the city welfare service working in the dental department for a while. Eventually I found a practice for sale by a dentist who had recently was discharged from the service, but he wanted to return. So Betty’s mother helped me finance that and so we started a practice in Motortown-Detroit area. We practiced there, and Betty was, while I was working for the city welfare, she stayed in the office and took appointments so that I could work in the evening after I finished with the welfare. So we began a practice there and were pretty happy until ’49 came the communication from Father that he’d like to see us move to Delano. He’d put up a building for us that we could convert to a dental practice. So that’s how we came back to Delano. Of course, I was looking forward to coming back, but I didn’t know at first what alternatives there were. So we did come back. We loaded up and shipped the equipment from where we had started and shipped it to Delano. In spring of ’50, the building was finished and about April, I started a practice. I’ve been there ever since, until we moved to San Diego in 1997.
BN: So when did you retire?
JN: I retired about a year before then, in ’96. I was kind of forced into retiring because I had a subdural hematoma surgery and it was going to be a long duration kind of healing, so I and my family decided it was a time to retire. ‘Cause I had been practicing about fifty years so it was a good time to quit. So I sold my practice and I’ve been working hard at retirement ever since with no regrets.
BN: Where did you move? 15 NAGATANI
JN: We moved from Delano after forty-five years, nearly fifty. We went down to San Diego, close to Poway where our daughter and her children live. And so we found our home that we love and we’re working at enjoying life very much. Our older son is living in Santa Barbara; they come to visit us at times. Our second son who passed away nearly half a year ago, he was in the navy; he was in the navy for about seventeen years. He was practicing children’s dentistry. And a, it’s unfortunate, but he had cancer, and they couldn’t cure it. It was too late, the treatment. They had no way of knowing the cancer was there, I guess. We lost a part of the family; we have remaining family and grandchildren, so life goes on. We have a lot to be thankful for. And I have no regrets about whatever happened.
BN: You said that you were married following the military. What was her maiden name? Her name?
JN: Betty’s maiden name was Ichioka (?). Her mother’s name is Chizu Ichioka (?) and she had a gift store in Tulsa, a gift store that sold a lot of things, likehousehold goods like lamps and pictures and different things, a lot of that. She sold a number of Japanese import goods, too. So she was with that family.
BN: You mentioned two sons; do you have any daughters?
JN: We have one daughter, a dear daughter, of course. She lives down in Poway close to where we live. She’s about five miles. We enjoy her and the family, the two grandchildren. We have a good relation with them and we thoroughly enjoy that. So we are very happy down here in San Diego. We miss a lot of people that we left in Delano, all the patients and people that we learned to know and like, church affiliations. 16 NAGATANI
BN: Now let’s talk a little bit about World War II itself. How did you hear about the disaster in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? How did you hear about that?
JN: I guess it was over the radio. It was Sunday morning and I was at the University of California Dental School and I was employed as a help for Dr. Franco. He was a specialist, an M.D. in obstret, obstet (chuckles). Anyway, he was an obstetrician. I worked for room and board by helping him keep up the house and help him cook. So it was a sunny day and I guess we were both listening at breakfast time; over the radio we heard that. We were both shocked, of course. But he encouraged, he said, “Well, you have your job to do. You continue the school and study and do well there.” And he did his best to help me out wherever he could help. So I was not very distressed, but of course, I wondered what would happen to us. You know, that’s a natural thing, we didn’t know the future, but then it gradually developed.
BN: So you had no way of knowing if there were going to be any repercussions from this sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
JN: Of course I knew it couldn’t be all great. I did realize that it was going to affect Americans of Japanese ancestry. I had a feeling but I just wondered what kind of a thing could happen. Because we had no way of knowing. We hoped that it wouldn’t be disastrous. But I had my job to do, I had to continue school. I had the encouragement of my doctor I helped out. And so when it came time to evacuate, it was time to return to the family. I don’t know how that all came about, but I, news and everything and the school knew, too, that we had to leave the school and return home. (inaudible) had to evacuate and had to be with the family. 17 NAGATANI
BN: Okay, now we already talked about evacuation and the camp and such. You spent a lot of time, or very little time, in camp itself. How familiar were the loyalty questions, number 27 and 28? Were you that familiar with it?
JN: I really wasn’t because the serious nature of it didn’t happen until I had already left for Detroit. That was about June of ’43. My concentration was on leaving and finding a place to stay and getting ready for the dental school. So my concern didn’t include that part of it at that time.
BN: So, in recent years, what would you say are the most important things that have happened to you?
JN: Well, I guess, as I say, a couple of years, we moved down here because I had to retire. So we talked about that.
BN: Now, how would you say that the wartime experience, did it affect you in your life too adversely?
JN: I think I was very fortunate because in the first place, I was able to leave the camp before all that turmoil started. And there was not the anxiety of a decision I would have to make. I did have the school already picked out. The University of California and the dean of the dental school in California, they helped all the Japanese dental students to relocate to other dental schools. And so I went along with that and they found me Detroit. And so I had a place to go, what I had to do and all that. Life in camp was temporary and leaving the camp was planning for that.
BN: Okay now. Have you been active in the mainstream community: service club, professional organization, politically, church? How many organizations and that’s including this one here, the Japanese-American community also. 18 NAGATANI
JN: Well, once I got back to Delano, I was involved with a lot of the Japanese. Well, there weren’t all that many Japanese here, but I did get involved in the Japanese community as well as the general community. I became a member of the service club; I was automatically a member of professional club, being a dentist. And we had the Kern County, California, (inaudible) association that I belonged to. And I was a member of the Methodist Church in Delano. I was active; I was one of the trustees and all that. I belonged to a, I was active in school by—I was a member of the school board for about twelve years, elementary school. So I was busy there. I was a member of Toastmasters for about ten years. I was with a (inaudible) organization for at least fifteen years. It was about eight or ten of us organized, encouraged runs in Delano, at least two or three different runs. I thoroughly enjoyed that and had a lot of good help, city help. With the Japanese community, why, I was involved with the JACL. I’ve been past president of that a number of times. I was involved in the district part of the JACL. I was fortunate to have to serve as a district chairman, it was called at the time; now it’s called the district governor. So I had the opportunity to get involved with that. So politically, I’m not real strong, but I was asked to serve on the city council at a time when one city council member left the community, so I served, finished his term out, by almost three years. It was very interesting experience, and I thought, well, I see if I can run and see what I can do about trying to get re-elected, but it was not meant to be. So, I continued to be on the city council and got a lot of good experience. I think I said, if I didn’t, I was in the Lions Club. (inaudible)
BN: Well, what do you think was the greatest contribution by the Nisei men and Nisei women? 19 NAGATANI
JN: I think the greatest impact that Nisei men and women did to contribute to the betterment of the Japanese in the United States was joining and serving in the various departments of the armed forces. Of course, we know the 100th, 442nd and the MIS and I’m sure they were involved in other departments of the service with their tremendous contribution and sacrifice. Think they accomplished what they were trying to do, and that is to show that the Japanese were truly American, they were loyal and they prove beyond doubt that we were part of America and that we should have equal parts. I mean we should feel that we have achieved what we went out to do. I don’t think that we have to feel ashamed of anything. We contributed so much for the betterment of America.
BN: What kind of life do you see for your children and grandchildren?
JN: Well, I guess it’s about the same as for any other children and grandchildren. But we should encourage them to stress education; it’s very important that children get education first of all. That’s very important. It’s important for the family and parents and grandparents, too, to help wherever they can to encourage them to get their education.
BN: Okay. Would you care to describe what YOUR greatest achievements have been?
JN: Well, I think I achieved what I wanted to. I went into dentistry and I come out and served in the service that you had to do. I settled in Delano and I really enjoyed it and feel I accomplished helping people with dental needs. And I feel that I did a lot to accomplish that. A lot of people have said nice things to me after I retired, so I’m very happy.
BN: That just about winds up this interview. Is there anything else you would like to say? Or do you have any questions? 20 NAGATANI
JN: I could say, well, I hope that what I said and have done in the past, I hope it does contribute something to the betterment of our Japanese community and Japanese, in general, and that everyone continues to do that.
BN: Okay, I’m sure it will. Well, thank you for sharing your story with us. This will be something that’s cherished by the younger generation. So, this is your legacy. Thank you very much.
END OF INTERVIEW