Gender

Male

Birth date

1933-11-22

Place of birth

Los Angeles CA, U.S.A.

Inducted

1952-1-12, Los Angeles CA

Enlistment type

Volunteer

Service branch

Army

Service type

War,peacetime

Unit type

Combat

Units served

187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team - Korea/Japan

8092nd Signal Field Maintenance Detachment - Camp Kobe, Japan

Military specialty

Commo - Radio Operator, Wireman, Radio Maintenance Specialist

Stationed

Basic at Ft. Ord, CA; Airborne training at Ft. Benning, GA; Japan; Korea.

Separated

Oakland CA

Unit responsibility

Quick infantry insertion, airborne assault. A completely self-supported regimental combat team ready at all times to move at a moments notice.

Personal responsibility

Radio operator, wiremen, rifleman.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Korea, summer of '52; Korea, summer of '53; 1952 - Kumwha Valley; The iron triangle - attached to the 7th division; 1953 - Chorwon, also part of the iron triangle - attached to the 2nd division.

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Korean Presidential Unit Citation (for participation in the 1952 and 1953 Campaigns); Paratrooper Wings; Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Living conditions

We slept in bunkers, if available or in shallow foxholes when we were on the line. If we were lucky, we were trucked to a shower point every 2 - 3 weeks, or if there was a creek or river nearby, we might take a bath once a week. We received one hot meal a day, either breakfast or dinner. The other meals were C-rations. In 1952 we received 2 cans of beer everyday. There is no entertainment on the lines; only when in reserve in the rear areas, or back in Japan.

Most vivid memory of military experience

The night of the Cease Fire in Korea and the morning after. Although the Cease Fire was scheduled for 10:00 PM, firing along the line stopped around 6 or 7 pm. The next morning, the Chinese were standing on their bunkers and trenches waving white rags. I was surprised to see some so close to our position. Gen. Westmoreland, later commander in Viet Nam, was my Regimental Commander who earned his first star in our unit.

Missed most whilst in the military

Seeing family and childhood friends.

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

Personally the G.I. Bill allowed me to get a college education. I feel very fortunate for the experience and to be able to say I was a member of an elite unit in wartime. Many of my friends were in the service about the same time, but you have to volunteer twice to become an elite paratrooper. There were no more than 6 or 7 Japanese Americans in the 187 ARCT and most were from Hawaii.

Additional information

I earned a B.S. in Engineering from UCLA in 1962 and an MSEE from USC in 1967. I retired in 1992 after working 28 years with TRW Systems where I designed, built, managed, etc., communication systems for many spacecrafts.