Sexo

Male

Birth date

1919-7-19

Local de nascimento

Santa Ana CA, U.S.A.

Inducted

1944-5-20, Ft. Benjamin Harrison IN

Tipo de alistamento

Volunteer

Ramo das Forças Armadas

Army

Tipo de serviço

War

Tipo de Unidade

Combat

Unidades onde serviu

442nd Reginental Combat Team
MISLS B-7 (Graduated Snelling, Dec. 1944)
Hqs Co. MISLS

Military specialty

Military Intelligence
Infantryman

Stationed

USA:Camp Blanding, FL: Ft. Snelling, MN
Other Countries: France; Italy

Separated

Ft. Sheridan IL

Unit responsibility

442nd RCT-- direct combat with the Germans and parts of Italian armies.
Military Intelligence Service (MIS) was to be combat interpreters against Japan.

Personal responsibility

Combat/mortar and machine gunner

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Rhineland
Vosges Mt.
No. Apennines
Po Valley
Little Maginot Line
7 major campaigns

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Bronze Star
Combat Infantryman Badge
Presidential Unit Citations with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Occupation-Italy
European-African-Middle Eastern TheaterRibbon
American Theater.

Living conditions

We slept in fox holes and between logs, empty shacks, otherwise in pup tents.
We ate K and C rations.
We bathed in ponds, rivers and rain water - used helmets.
We drank rain water and even drank from polluted ponds again with helmets. I caught dysentery and food poisoning. I ate a few hot meals.
Played and listened to ukulele or sang songs among buddies.

Most vivid memory of military experience

The power of prayer was important when there is none to turn to for support. It is the loneliest place in the world in battle and one can only turn to God for support. He came through!
At war's end in Italy, after leaving the 442nd in Italy and returning to USA, and the first day on the train to visit my wife and child before reporting for further duty to military intelligence unit and proceeding to the Pacific War, 2 white recruits struck me from behind and said, 'You dirty Jap, hiding behind our uniform.' I was crushed more spiritually than physically.
My first thought was 'Am I coming back to the same hostile atmosphere I faced in California shortly after Pearl Harbor?'
I had many wonderful experiences in the service, in Europe and the USA. Even a friendship developed with an enemy soldier who kept communicating after the war.

Missed most whilst in the military

Wife and child

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

People are the same - whether German, Italian, white, yellow, black Americans. If you are good to them, it comes back many times. There are far more nice persons on Earth than bad so take your chances and be good to all.

Additional information

My experiences in life: from my youth, college, army, war, relocation, from concentration camp, to service, to start life anew in a far-away state and city after the war with just a few pennies to support a wife and child, work and finish my college education at same time, find a new occupation - The support and encouragement of new friends, family, business associates, and above all, the communication and spiritual guidance from God, made me successful not only in business, but in life itself, the most important segment of living.

I found that the United States was larger than the borders of California, that Ohio, and especially Cleveland and Toledo accepted me as an American, equal to any other American though my skin may be yellow and hair black. They gave me opportunities I could not receive in my native state and city in California.

The National Fraternal Lodge of Masonry presented me with the highest degree in Masonry - the 33rd Degree, which I am humbled to receive.