Sexo

Male

Fecha de Nacimiento

1922-5-6

Lugar de Nacimiento

Los Angeles CA, U.S.A.

Inducted

1944-6-19, Camp Robinson AK

Tipo de Alistamiento

Draftee

Afiliación Militar

Army

Tipo de servicio prestado

War

Tipo de unidad militar

Combat

Unidades a las que sirvió

Company L, 442 Regimental Combat Team

Especialidad militar

Squad Leader - 745

Asignado

United States, France, Italy

Retirado

Fort Sheridan IL

Responsabilidad en la unidad

Fight the german military

Responsabilidad individual

To prove that Japanese American people are loyal citizens of the U.S. and to help release Japanese American people from America's concentration camps so we can live free in America.

Batallas principales (si sirvió en una zona de guerra)

North Appenines, Po Valley, Rhineland

Reconocimientos, medallas, menciones (individuales o de la unidad)

Victory Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with thee bonze battle stars. Three overseas service bars, Good Conduct Medal, Distinguished Unit Badge

Condiciones de Vida

On the front line,we slept in fox hole or dugout. In the rear, we slept in tents. We ate K rations on the front lines and ate in the mess hall in the rear. We took no baths in the front, but had showers in the rear area. For entertainment we played cards, read, visited towns, slept and told stories.

Recuerdo más vívido de la experiencia militar

I remember a member of our platoon sat by the trail and cried because his twin brother had just been killed. I was informed that a professor at the University of Chicago had his office trashed and a sign left - 'Go Home Dirty Jap'. The University president dismissed it as 'vandalism'. His name was Najita. I called him because my squad leader, killed in the next to the last fire-fight was named Najita. The professor was his brother. I wrote to the university president to inform her of this. She apologized and an article appeared in the school paper regarding this.

Lo que más extraño durante su tiempo en las fuerzas armadas

I missed my sleep, rest and privacy

¿En lo personal, qué obtuvo de su experiencia militar?

I am proud that I fulfilled my duty as a U.S. citizen by serving in the armed forces. I can face anyone who challenges me because of my Japanese ancestry. However, I want to make clear that I do not consider myself a patriot. I was fighting for the rights of Japanese American people to live free in the United States. This freedom can be extended to all Asian American people because the general public identifies us as one and the same.

Información adicional

As minority spokesperson and member of the National Legislative Council of the AARP, I have been asked to speak to groups about America's concentration camps and being part of the effort to free the Japanese American people by serving in the 442. I organized the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, in order to continue to inform the public about us and to record our continuing efforts to adjust to the racism through our oral history project.