Partial Transcript: Paul Takeo Bannai is born July 4, 1920, in Delta, Colorado. Paul explains the meaning of this name. The doctor suggests to Paul's mother to give him the first name Paul after Paul Revere. For his middle name, it is a Japanese custom to have a Japanese middle name. The name Takeo comes from his ancestral name, where his parent came from in Japan. Paul's last name Bannai is from the Chinese reading, and his ancestor never changed it. Paul has a sister named Rose, and she is born in Montrose, CO. Paul's other sister is born in Utah. Paul recalls visiting Colorado and Utah, where he grows up.

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Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; farming; Japanese identity and values; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Paul visits Utah to visit where his grandfather used to live. Paul's grandfather arrives in the late 1800s to the United States and settles in a coal mine town outside Salt Lake City, UT. Due to safety regulations, Paul's grandfather passes away from a coal mining accident. Paul brings his grandfather's grave to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights, CA, to be with his grandmother and Paul's parents. Growing up in Utah, Paul's grammar school is a two-room classroom. The building serves as a church, meeting room, and school. Paul's teachers are husband and wife. Later, the Bannai family moves to Glendale, AZ, to work on a melon farm. The grammar school in Glendale has 10-15 classrooms.

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Keywords: education; family; farming; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; primary school

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Partial Transcript: When Paul is 11 years old, his family moves to Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA. Paul attends First Street School and then Hollenbeck Junior High School. After junior high school, Paul attends Roosevelt High School. During the summertime, Paul works on a farm in Oxnard to help his parents financially. On the farm, Paul drives the truck. After graduating high school, Paul goes business school.

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Keywords: farming; high school; Issei; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

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Partial Transcript: The demographic at Boyle Heights and Roosevelt High school is half Jewish. Paul's friends are Russian, Hispanic, and Japanese American. The community is well diverse. In high school, there is a Japanese Club, and Paul is president. Paul is also active in the Japanese American community with Nisei Week and organizing a talent show. Paul recalls being in a band that performs for various events in the community. Previously, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) had a Boyle Height exhibition. The Boyle Heights area is special to Paul because that is home and where evacuation happened.

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Keywords: "evacuation"; Executive Order 9066; friendship; high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei; social activities; World War Two; youth organizations

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Partial Transcript: Paul discusses Manzanar High School is having a reunion in Las Vegas, NV. He has been to serval reunions and sees old friends. When the internment camp started, Paul is 21 years old. Paul is classified 1A by the Selective Service Board, and he is part of the guard. On December 7, Paul hears about Pearl Harbor and reports to the Selective Service Board in Exposition Park. Paul is not given a rifle or ammunition due to his Japanese ancestry. Paul is now classified 4C (Aliens ineligible for service).

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Executive Order 9066; high school; Japanese Americans; Manzanar; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Paul works at California Bank in Little Tokyo downtown Los Angeles, CA. His mother instills in him he is a third-generation, Japanese American and his loyalty is with the United States. Paul is upset that he is classified 4C and is unable to serve. He is part of the Japanese American Citizen League (JACL), and he and a few others write a letter expressing their rights as American citizens. As a result, the Japanese American classification is changed, and Paul volunteers for the military.

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Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; community organizations; employment; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: When evacuation orders are announced, Paul's family goes to Manzanar first. Paul does not go with his family because he is concerned about his customers at the bank. He contacts the War Relocation Authority and gets permission to delay his evacuation. At Manzanar, Paul works at the Government Department with types of equipment. Later, Paul leaves to work at a labor camp in Idaho, harvesting potatoes and sugar beets. Through the Quaker's Program, Paul applies to the University of Nebraska and is accepted.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: "evacuation"; Executive Order 9066; farm; higher education; Japanese Americans; living conditions; Nisei; War Relocation Authority; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Paul goes to register at the University of Nebraska and is no longer accepted because they reached their quota of Japanese American students. The University of Nebraska helps Paul find another school to attend. Paul chooses to attend Drake University, IA. However, it is in the middle of the semester, and he has to wait for the following semester to enroll. In the meantime, Paul finds a job at a hotel to support himself. He finds a roommate to share the cost of housing, and his roommate volunteers for the Marines.

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Keywords: discrimination; employment; higher education; Japanese Americans; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Paul's roommate volunteers for the Marines and writes him many letters. Later, Paul learns his roommate is killed in action in Saipan, Mariana Islands, and delivers his roommates' belongings to his family in Des Moines, IA. When the classification for the Japanese Americans changes, Paul enlists for service at Camp Dodge. The colonel at Camp Dodge offers Paul to work in the mess hall and be a staff sergeant. However, Paul wants to join the Japanese American unit. Paul recalls the female employees from the hotel who sends Paul off at the train station. He goes to Camp Shelby and is assigned to the 442nd.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Camp Shelby; friendship; Japanese American soldiers; Japanese Americans; Killed in Action; Nisei; Nisei soldiers; segregated unit; World War Two

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