 This is St. Tech Hawaii. Community matters here. The options and choices in life. This week, Hawaii begins the 76th commemoration of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The day that changed the entire world. Today, we will visit with my new best friend, who was just a child when Pearl Harbor was born. So, if you're ready to join us, we ask you to navigate the journey. So, let's begin with Harako. Haranako, I'll get it right. Oh, tell us, tell us all about you. How old were you the day of the bombing? I was ten years old. I was in the fifth grade at Alieva Elementary School. And so, you lived in Alieva at the time of the bombing? Yes. How did you find out about the bombing? You couldn't see Pearl Harbor from up there. Did you see the planes fly over anything? Well, I noticed that some planes were flying overhead. Then later on, we listened to the radio and we heard that Pearl Harbor was bombed. Did they tell you what happened? Who it was? How did you know? The Japanese pilots bombed Pearl Harbor. Oh, that's when the radio said that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. So, how did you feel being Japanese? How did you feel about that? Were you old enough to understand? Well, I understood, but my parents came from Japan. And I'm a Nisei, so we just had to do what we can to help with the war. So, now your parents came from Japan, so did they speak Japanese or did they speak English? They spoke some Pigeon English and some Japanese. So, did you live on a farm? My parents had a truck farm and they rented a place, at least some place in the Waimea area. And so, you lived in Waimea? No, on a vegetable farm. And then, in front of our house, we had a small plot with these vegetables. So, how many siblings do you have? I come from a family of nine with three boys and six girls. And I'm the last one. I'm the ninth family. Ninth one, great. Right now, we have three surviving. My sister, I'm 86. My sister is 94 and my brother is 96. So, just three of us are alive. Were they all there at the time of the bombing? All of your siblings? No, some of them were working and I think a few of my sisters were going to school. I mean, they were working at Holly Homes and going to school from there. So, the day of the bombing, that was a Sunday, so what was your Sunday like? Once you heard on the radio what had happened? Well, we just had to do what we were told to do. We were told not to leave B-Home at eight o'clock, not to go out at night. And we had to darken our windows, apply black paper so that the lights cannot be seen from the house. And we were not allowed to go to the beach. Now, when your parents are from Japan, did they have any pictures or anything from Japan? I think my parents had a picture of Fiorido and they had a Buddhist altar there. So, they took away the picture. Your mother had to take away the picture and the Buddhist altar? The altar was there, but... When you covered it? No, it was okay. It was okay? It was just having to move the pictures. Did anybody in the Americans come to your home and see what was going on at your house? Any of the American military or the police? Because the martial law, so didn't any of them come out that far at the Hollywood? We lived in a place called a true lane in an isolated area. And there was a back of a house. There was about a hundred feet away, a little hill. And there were about five or six military soldiers guarding that area. And then when they needed water, they came to ask us for water from the outside faucet. First, they asked me if the water was poisoned. So I said, why don't you drink it and tell me whether you get sick or not. Did they drink it? They drank it and found out it wasn't poisoned. So what were they guarding behind you? I don't know. It's an area where they could watch the area, the surrounding area. So was there a large Japanese... There were some hasu patches and rice fields or whatever. I meant local Japanese. So they were watching to see if you were spies. I guess they were scared of everything. So tell me now, when you went to school, once you went back to school, what was it like at school? We had to carry gas masks with us every day until about four or five months later that we had to turn in the gas mask. But you're a little girl with a mask. Ten years old. With the gas mask? But did you have to carry it? You didn't wear it. Well, we had to practice and the school had a big air raid shelter. So we had to practice going in there and coming out from there. So how far was the school from your farm? Oh, it was about three quarters, about three-fourth of the mile, I guess. And I used to go through... I used to catch the bus, but I used to go to the back area where there were some hasu patches and tarot patches. And sometimes I would go to the cane field and go up on the railroad track. And one time, a Pata Hawaiian boy was harassing me, telling me, you bomb Pearl Harbor. And I said, okay, now I... And he kept on doing that so often, so I finally reported that to the vice principal and she talked to him and it stopped. And he said, you bomb Pearl Harbor, yeah. So did you get a lot of harassment from other people for the years that went on after the war? I meant after the bombing. I think there were some people that went to friendly, you know. In fact, I used to go to Japanese school and when they took away the Japanese, the Buddhist priests and those Japanese school teachers, so the Japanese school was canceled. And even those businessmen, you know, there was a tailor. He was interned and there was also this journalist, newspaper person. He was also gone. And then my girlfriend, they had a restaurant so their father was interned too. Were they interned at Pano Uli Uli or on the mainland? I don't know whether they were sent to the mainland. So that left you with no school? Yes. So when you go to Japanese school, was that after the public school or during the day? When did you go to Japanese school? After the English school. After the English school. In the afternoon. In the afternoon. So that you learned the culture and the language or is that what? Learning the Japanese and how to read and write Japanese. Japanese. But after the school was closed, I kind of forgot. So many years ago. But did you learn about the culture, about the history of Japan and coming to Hawaii? Really? Did your parents tell you why they came to Hawaii? My parents? Yes. Did they tell you why they came to Hawaii? I think my parents had a better life. In Hawaii. In Hawaii. And my, I think my mother was a picture bride. Oh. Yeah. Where was your father from? Hiroshima. And your mother? Where did she come from? She, in fact, my parents were cousins. Oh. So she was from Hiroshima also? Yes. Yes. And so he sent her a picture, I mean a letter and she sent him the picture. But how did that work? I don't know. I think between relatives, you know. Oh. Okay. He picked her out and sent her here to Hawaii. Yeah. So anyway, we need to take a break and we will be back in just one minute. Here, thanks to Think Tech will run only during the month of November and you can help. Please donate what you can so that Think Tech Hawaii can continue to raise public awareness to promote civic engagement through free programming like mine. I've already made my donation and look forward to yours. Please send your tax deductible contribution by going to the website, thanks for Think Tech, dot-cause-box-dot-com. On behalf of the community enriched by Think Tech Hawaii 30-plus weekly show. Thank you mahalo for your generosity We are back and we are talking about about World War two and the bombing December 7 now this week Here in Hawaii We have a week-long celebration or commemorations better the 76 years Since the bombing of Pearl Harbor the the day that the whole world changed everything changed nothing has been the same and What I remember You have to tell me this I remember that everything was rationed How about you do you remember about things being rationed? Yeah, I just remember that gasoline was rationed So it was hard to get from place to place And you know We were at school We had victory gardens mm-hmm We raised lettuce and string beans and During the sixth grade year We harvested string beans and Irish potatoes just to help with the war effort. Oh What did you do these you seldom send what I don't know whether We supplied The military all you supplied the military, I don't know what what happened to all the Harvested crops the harvested crops you supplied the military and we we also had projects like We needed yarn young Beans for the military soldiers and we we also had Knitted with the string About eight by eight inch this cloth. Oh So you made those in school. Mm-hmm all great and that was for the military. I think so So you you crocheted how do you make I think we We needed knitted. Oh eight by Did you have to collect stamps I? Collected stamps. Yeah, we bought stamps for the war effort. Yes. Oh, yes We collect stamps and we had saving saving bonds saving bonds. Yes, and I My husband and I I think we After a while when we cash out the bonds, I didn't realize that we had so many bonds Yeah, once I became an adult. I was amazed at how many bonds I had and stamps. Yes, like I Didn't know we kept collecting But it never occurred to me to cash in so it was 1962 that I finally cash. Oh, how old were you with it? Were you when the war started? Ah One two three three you were three years old. Mm-hmm. I was ten Yeah, I was three and So everybody was in that war unlike wars today Everybody children adults didn't matter where you lived You were in the war. They were part of the war and so We had a clean plate club You had to eat everything on your plate because there were children in Europe starving and I never could figure out how My eating everything on the plate is helping children And the victory garden yes, we had a victory garden so everybody Also with miles apart and everybody's doing the same things. I was I mean they really Worked at having everybody participate in this war. Yes so The war went on of course for years and with martial law. How does that affect you in halloweva or? Could you tell the difference out there as opposed to being in the city? It looked like there was a curfew and this blackout we had to darken the windows by putting a black black cloth or black paper We were not allowed to go to the beach Well, tell me now the first day of the bombing we understand Did did it did you think that the Japanese were going to come back or? Occupy the island did you ever? Have a sense did anybody ever tell you that? Any rumors that all they're gonna come back and get us? Did you ever have anything like that? I know on the mainland people were buzzing all they're gonna occupy They're gonna occupy. I just I wonder if you had that happened but you know on the mainland I thought the people who live on the West Coast Yeah, they were interned in areas far away from them The sickos right but I thought It was unfair that They had lost the property and business. Yeah. Oh, yes Yeah, lots of lost everything never did get it back. Well, even here Here Louie Louie was all Japanese farms and they took all of that and And The bank here the Japanese bank that confiscated all of the money. Oh No, this Everybody who was affected everybody was affected It's it's amazing now how we look back at that time and All of the this I Saturday this coming Saturday at The Air Museum, they are celebrating people like you That were children at that time that is children's day and they're celebrating So would be nice of you to Meet all the others that were children and survived on that day. We have a church project we we have We default to Saturdays in December To make to bake cornflake cookies Cornbread cook a cornflake cornflake cook conflate cookies So I am scheduled to help with them. Oh, you can't go and be honored Being one of the children that survived that that time That's I am just so delighted to meet you So have you drive all the way from Haleva to be with us this morning? That is just wonderful. You will come back and visit with us again. I Hope so Please do it's been a real pleasure and I love it's been a pleasure being with you. We'll see you next time