Partial Transcript: Sumio Frank Shimada was born on April 21, 1918, in Vacaville, CA. Vacaville was a small town with a large Japanese American demographic due to the fruit industry (interview stops at 49 seconds, resumes at 58 seconds). Frank attended a reunion last year for people who evacuated from Vacaville. Although Frank did not evacuate from Vacaville, his family was one of the five pioneer families. Franks and his family left Vacaville when he was seven years old. He described the changes of Vacaville from when he was a child to the present.

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Keywords: employment; family; farming; Issei; Japanese Americans; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Frank's parents ran a fish market in Vacaville. In December 1927, Frank's family moved to Cordelia Vineyard and stayed there for five years. Then the family moved to San Jose in March 1932. Frank's parents immigrated from Kumamoto, Japan, to the United States. Frank's father was a chounan - firstborn son, and he came to the United States in 1898. Frank lived in Vacaville for seven years before moving. He remembers some of his childhood friends. After moving, he only has one of his friends from Vacaville.

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Keywords: 442nd; employment; family; friendship; Issei parents; Military Intelligence Service

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Partial Transcript: When Frank revisited Vacaville last year, he described the changes in the town. After living in Vacaville for seven years, Frank's family moved to Cordelia. The school Frank attended at Cordelia was a two-room school. There was a principal and one teacher. The classroom had approximately seven or eight students in a room. Frank discusses the Japanese American demographic in the nearby cities, and there was a Japanese American baseball league.

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Keywords: Japanese Americans; Nisei; sports

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Partial Transcript: Frank recalls going fishing and swimming when he lived in Cordelia. After five years, Frank's family moved to San Jose. When Frank went overseas during wartime, he missed the valleys of San Jose the most. The valley was the most beautiful when the flowers were blooming. Frank also discusses the school system.

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Keywords: childhood activities; education; family; fishing; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

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Partial Transcript: Frank's friends growing up were Japanese Americans. In Vacaville, Frank attended Japanese Language School after primary school. The teacher was Ms. Okomoto, a family friend. At home, Frank spoke a mixture of English and Japanese. Frank's parents instilled in him to respect authority, do not bring shame to his parents and family, and never say anything bad.

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Keywords: education; friendship; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Japanese identity and values; Japanese language school; Nisei; primary school

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Partial Transcript: When Frank attended school in Cordelia, one of his friends was the son of Lutheran Minister. Frank later enrolled in Sunday school and got baptized to be a confirmed Lutheran. In high school, Frank enrolled at a Prep Ministry school in Oakland. The school had six grades - four years of high school and two years at Junior College. At Ministry school, he participated in basketball and baseball. He describes school life living at the school. Frank was the first Japanese American student at the school. Later, George Shibata enrolled at the Prep Ministry School and became a Lutheran Ministry. George moved to Japan.

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Keywords: childhood activities; Japanese Americans; Nisei; sports

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Partial Transcript: Frank graduated high school in 1936. Being the oldest son, he had responsibilities to the family. Therefore, he worked on the strawberry farm to help his parents. Later, Frank's family moved to Santa Clara and rented an area for farming. Frank had a half-brother who lived in Los Angeles working at a trucking business. His brother needed a driver hauling fresh produce, and Frank moved to Los Angeles to help him. However, the war started. Frank recalls hearing the news about Pearl Harbor.

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Keywords: education; family; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; Pearl Harbor

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Partial Transcript: Frank's first reaction to hearing the news about Pearl Harbor was the outcome would not affect him. Frank was an American citizen. However, the aftermath of Pearl Harbor was different from what Frank expected. He experienced his first discrimination when making a delivery to Riverside. Franks said his parents did not interact with the public too much since they lived in the country.

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Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; Japanese Americans; Nisei; Pearl Harbor; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: After President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, there was a curfew for the Japanese Americans. Also, the Japanese Americans could only travel a certain distance and needed a permit to travel further. Shortly after, there were evacuation orders, and Frank returned home. He recalls traveling home and meeting kind people. Frank's first reaction to Executive Order 9066 was the government could not do this to American citizens. He could only comply with the government orders because his parents taught him to respect authority.

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Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; Executive Order 9066; forced removal; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Japanese identity and values; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Frank evacuated with the Japanese Americans from Mountain View Palo Alto rather than Santa Clara residence. Frank went to Santa Anita Assembly Center but later to Heart Mountain with the Japanese Americans from Santa Clara. He recalls entrusting the man who they rented the land from to store their belongings, but their belongings were gone when they came back. Frank only took what he could carry to camp.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Executive Order 9066; forced removal; Heart Mountain; Issei; Japanese Americans; Nisei; relocation centers; World War Two

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