Japanese American Military Experience Database
Don N. Yamaoka
Gender
Male
Birth date
1920-10-3
Place of birth
Sanger CA, U.S.A.
Inducted
1944-9-7, Cleveland OH
Enlistment type
Draftee
Service branch
Army
Service type
War
Unit type
Support
Units served
7th Infantry Division HQ, Seoul, Korea, April 1946 - May 1948
Camp Croft, Spartansburg, SC, Basic Infantry Training, December 1944 - April 1945
MISLS F-3 (Graduated Snelling, July 1945), Fort Snelling, MN, Japanese Language Training, April 1945 - February 1946
Camp Croft, Spartansburg, SC, Basic Infantry Training, December 1944 - April 1945
MISLS F-3 (Graduated Snelling, July 1945), Fort Snelling, MN, Japanese Language Training, April 1945 - February 1946
Military specialty
Military Intelligence
Stationed
USA: Spartansburg, SC; Ft. Snelling, MN
Other Countries: Tokyo, Japan 2/1946 - 4/1946; Korea 4/1946 - 5/1948
Other Countries: Tokyo, Japan 2/1946 - 4/1946; Korea 4/1946 - 5/1948
Separated
Fort Lawton WA
Unit responsibility
Our unit was trained in POW interrogations and identification of enemy units
Personal responsibility
Commanded a small military intelligence unit attached to 7th Infantry Division.
Most important thing, personally, to come from military experience?
Concentrated very hard on becoming an officer. Opportunity developed when I was able to graduate 2nd highest among approximately 350 students from our 16 week training in Japanese language at Fort Snelling. Four of us from that class were sent to officer training class for 6 months to be commissioned in February 1946.
Additional information
Received Basic Infantry Training in Camp Croft, SC. This unit was sent in to Fort Meade, MD to go overseas into combat at the end of April 1945. Just the day before this unit was heading overseas, I was pulled out and sent to Fort Snelling, MN. This turned out to be a lucky transfer since this infantry trained unit ended up in Europe directly in the heavy fighting at the Belgium Bulge.