Gender

Male

Birth date

1912-5-10

Place of birth

Waipahu, Oahu HI, U.S.A.

Inducted

1943-3-25, Schofield Barracks HI

Enlistment type

Volunteer

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Combat

Units served

Company H, 2nd Battalion and Co. I, 442nd Regimental Combat Team

Military specialty

Section Sergeant, Heavy Machine-Gun Platoon
Rifle Platoon Leader

Stationed

USA: Schofield Barracks, HI; Camp Shelby, MS
Other Countries: Italy, France.

Separated

Honolulu HI

Unit responsibility

Machine gun support of rifle companies, and holding defensive positions.

Personal responsibility

Leadership and control of two heavy, machine-gun squads which formed the second section of the Second Platoon of our Heavy Machine-Gun Co. Platoon, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 442nd RCT. as Section Sergeant

Rifle Platoon Leader as 2nd Lt.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Rome-Arno(June 26-July 21, 1944)
German Campaign
North Apennines/Po Valley Campaign
Defense of Maritime Alps (in the German Campaign).

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Good Conduct Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Presidential Unit Citation
Silver Star-July 1944
Bronze Star w/Oak-Leaf Cluster-April 1944

Living conditions

Out in the field, it was one bad camping trip without tents and facilities. This experience made me swear off camping for the rest of my life. Life in the barracks was tolerable. There was no personal privacy. Try sleeping with fourteen different types of sleeping noises.

Most vivid memory of military experience

I was impressed by the seriousness of and purpose of my fellow men. There was no braggadacio or deep concern expressed by the men. The younger men were full of energy and the older ones, like me, were quieter and less boisterous. They all acted like they had a purpose for being present in camp and all seemed to want to become good soldiers.

Missed most whilst in the military

Civilian life and activities, family and friends and beautiful Hawaii.

Most important thing, personally, to come from military experience?

First, it gave me great confidence in myself to cope with any problems in life. It proved to me that there was a place for me and my family in this country and that we were equal to anybody in this country. It proved to me that the United States was for the people and by the people. Some of my friends in my platoon from Hawaii and Mainland Relocation Camps were killed and I shall never forget them. I have great Aloha for those who volunteered from Relocation Camps. Some of my most lasting friendships were made in training and in battle.

Additional information

I was a policeman, 31 years old with 9 years of service in the Honolulu Police Department when I was allowed to join the 442nd RCT at Schofield Barracks in 1943. I enlisted as a private and trained at Camp Shelby as a member of the Second Platoon, Co. H, 442nd RCT. I was promoted to Staff Sergeant after training.

I was wounded in combat in July 1944 and was hospitalized at the 12th General Hospital outside of Rome for approximately six months. I was discharged to join the 442nd RCT in Epinal, France. At Epinal, I found that the RCT had moved to the Maritime Alps so I, along with about two-hundred replacement troops joined the unit in the Maritime Alps. I re-joined Co. H in Sospel, France. I was promoted to Platoon Sergeant under Lt. Bryson Paddock of Austin, Texas.

In the spring (April 1945), the Combat Team was attached to the 92nd Division to attack the Germans in the hills beyond Azzano, Italy. The 2nd Battalion climbed Mt. Caracio and proceeded to attack toward Mt. Belvedere. I was recalled from the hills to attend Officers Training School conducted by the 5th Army near Caserta, Italy. I was commissioned 2nd Lt. on July 14, 1945 and assigned to Co. I of the 3rd Battalion, 442nd.

I was discharged from the service on September 14, 1945.

I then enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and started medical studies in the fall of 1946.

I graduated in 1950 and spent one year in internship at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu. Subsequently, I became a resident in surgery at the Veterans' Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.

I then practiced general surgery from 1955 until 1976 in Honolulu.

My military experience was the most important and most indelible part of my life. I will never forget the men that I served with in the 442nd RCT.