Sexo

Male

Birth date

1920-05-20

Local de nascimento

Armona CA, USA

Inducted

1941-11-04, Sacramento CA

Tipo de alistamento

Draftee

Ramo das Forças Armadas

Army

Tipo de serviço

War

Tipo de Unidade

Combat

Unidades onde serviu

Basic training at Camp Roberts, Paso Robles, CA MISLS Sec. 10 (Graduated Savage, Dec. 1942) 165th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Makin (Gilbert Islands) 27th Infantry Division, Central Pacific Theater - Saipan Island, Okinawa & Occupation of Japan.

Military specialty

Military Intelligence Interpreter, Translator & Interrogator

Stationed

USA: Camp Roberts, CA; Camp Robinson, AK; Camp Savage, MN; Schofield Barracks, HI Other Countries: Makin Island (Gilbert Islands); Saipan Island; Okinawa; Japan.

Separated

Camp Beale CA

Unit responsibility

Infantry Unit Combat and Military intelligence

Personal responsibility

Language section in Division Hdqtrs; Sent out to various units in combat to translate, interpret and interrogate.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Invasion of Makin Island, Saipan Island and Okinawa.

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Combat Infantryman Badge for Makin Island Invasion belatedly (11 Months)received Letter of Commendation for participation in Makin Island Invasion Bronze Star Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 Stars (Central Pacific, Western Pacific, and Ryukyus) American Campaign Medal American Defense Medal Victory Medal WW II Medal Good Conduct Medal

Living conditions

See other sections.

Most vivid memory of military experience

1). I was inducted into the Army on November 4, 1941. During my 13 week basic training at Camp Roberts, the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. All Nisei trainees in the battalion were called together and taken off KP and guard duty. I was interviewed by Capt. Dickey of Army Intelligence on my skills in reading and translating Japanese. 2). After basic, I was sent to Camp Robinson, AR along with other Nisei servicemen from the Western Defense Command. At Camp Robinson, I and twenty other Nisei were assigned to take care of the firing range. In December 1942, I was sent to Camp Savage, MN for further interviews by then Col. Dickey and 26 weeks of schooling in the Japanese language. Upon graduation, I, accompanied by Tim Ohta, Hoichi 'Bob' Kubota, Richard Moritsugu, Jack Tanimoto, Joe Fujino, Larry Saito, Roy Higashi and William Nuno were sent to Schofield Barracks, HI and assigned to the 27th Infantry Division. In November 1943, Jack Tanimoto, Hoichi Kubo and I were sent with the 2nd Battalion of the 165th Infantry Regiment to participate in the invasion of Makin Island. Although we had undergone intensive training, including staged amphibious beachhead landings, this was to be more of an adventure than anyone could have imagined. The convoy took 10 days to arrive at our destination and the journey actually was quite boring. We were aboard the USS Leonard Wood and the crew included a famous Hollywood actor named Caesar Romero who was serving as a seaman. The troops constantly were on Romero asking about Hollywood and its people, making it difficult for him to carry out his assigned duties. On the morning of the landing, we had a special breakfast of steak, eggs, and all the trimmings. I went topside to observe the bombardment of Makin Island by naval ships and aircraft. Many of the tall coconut palms, which were gracefully outlined against the sky in the early dawn, were being torn apart, as were the inhabitants of the island. It was a wonder that anything could survive such an attack. 3). Once the bombardment let up, we took to the rope ladders over the side of the ship. It was a tricky feat to climb down from a rolling ship in full field gear onto the deck of a pitching landing craft. The landing craft got underway towards the beach and then ran aground on the shallow reefs. Under intense enemy fire, we were forced to wade chest deep some 100 yards to the beach. We were scared but had no time to think about it - just to get the hell out of the water and on to the shore. Once on shore, we dug foxholes to get out the line of fire. By nightfall, the beachhead and most of the island was secured. 4). A group of Korean laborers attached to the Japanese forces had been rounded up and interrogated for information but not much was revealed. No POW's were taken but we were able to seize important documents at the enemy command post, and these proved to be of assistance to our forces. Jack Tanimoto and I stayed with the garrison force to help with the clean-up. We experienced bomb attacks every night for two weeks. 'Betty' bombers would come over and drop their loads somewhere on the island. Our bodyguard, Pvt. Fred Narruhan, who was a native of Makin, was with the British Army and he accompanied us constantly. We became good friends. Jack and I visited his family and had a meal of native foods. On a reconnaissance to the outer island by landing craft, I went to Special Services and managed to obtain fishing poles and jigs. We caught barracuda and jack crevelles and feasted on fresh fish instead of our routine canned rations. 5). After two months, we were ordered to join the 27th Division in Hawaii. Upon our arrival, Jake Herzog, an intelligence officer met us. Herzog was there to provide identification and to get us quickly out of Pearl Harbor because Nisei were not allowed in the area. 6). At the end of May 1944, the entire 27th Division boarded troop transports headed for the Marianas. On June 16th we arrived at Saipan where the Marines were already pushing inland from their beachhead with the enemy counterattacking during the night. The Army was called in for reinforcement. When a Japanese command post was taken at Aslito Airfield, I went to search for documents with a squad of bodyguards to the chatter of machine gun fire. On another occasion, I remember watching a dogfight involving American and Japanese fighter planes. When it ended, a Zero landed on the airstrip, the pilot was captured, and I proceeded to interrogate him. When I asked why he had landed at Aslito, the pilot responded that he had taken off from Guam and thought the airfield was still in Japanese possession. 7). In the early morning of July 7, I was at the POW collecting area in the town of Tanapag with Lt. Ben Hazard, our language team officer, when the 'Gyokusai' (final suicide attack) came off. We had warned higher HQ of this potential the day before. Fortunately the drive was stopped on the outskirts of town and I did not get directly involved in the firefight. At daylight, accompanied by Major Herzog of G-2, we proceeded to the site of 'gyokusai' and surveyed the bloody mess. I was checking for unit identification on the dead bodies, and as I walked by a pile of brush a grenade blast went off. I pulled the brush back and found a soldier who had hidden in a hole and who had committed suicide with his grenade. 8). April 1, 1945 marked the invasion of Okinawa, and once again the team and the 27th Division were involved. The Battle of Okinawa was fierce and the troops were pulled out for a much needed rest when the fight got close to Naha, the capital city. Eventually the division was sent to Nago for some R&R, but I was detached and sent to HQ to work with language personnel that were still engaged in battle. I was paired with Bob Sugimoto until the island was declared to be secured. I was then sent back to the 27th Division with a 'mop up' unit to the northern sector of the island. 9). When V-J Day was declared, I had enough points to get discharged and was looking forward to going home but was disappointed when orders came stating that language specialists were considered essential and points earned were frozen. I was airlifted with the 27th Division to Japan to serve in the Occupation. Stationed first at the naval facility in Hiratsuka south of Yokohama, we were then sent to Niigata on the Japan Sea side of Honshu in October. While there, Gen. Griner was summoned to attend a meeting in Sendai on the Pacific side and I accompanied the general as his personal interpreter. It was considered a nice trip with not much to do. Every place we stopped on the way to Sendai, the dignitaries who met the general had their own interpreters and I was on standby for emergencies. At Sendai, I met Ken Oka and others from Camp Savage. Upon returning to Niigata, orders came which declared the status of language specialists unfrozen and we were eligible for discharge. I decided it was time to head for home. I came out without a scratch even though I had a few narrow escapes.

Additional information

Returning home to Hanford, I married Emi Shinagawa, to whom I was engaged before going overseas. We have one son and two daughters. I have been a self-employed farmer for almost thirty years producing field crops - cotton, alfalfa and the like on a ranch near Lemoore and retired in 1979. An ardent deep sea fisherman, I fish off the central and southern California coasts and in Hawaiian waters. My prize catch include a 150 pound marlin reeled in off Diamond Head and a 40 pound dorado (mahi mahi) caught during the MIS Reunion in Hawaii in 1993. In 1949, he helped found the Nisei Liberty Post 5869 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He was also a member of the Military Intelligence Service Veterans Association of Southern California. He was an active member of the Hanford Buddhist Church.