Kenneth Ota oral history interview, July 26, 2002

Ota begins the interview talking about his family and how his parents came from Nagasaki to Washington. His father would work his way up from being a janitor to owning hotels and restaurants while Kenneth and his siblings went to school and played…

Ota talks more about his childhood in Washington and being able to travel around the state playing sports. He would enjoy playing basketball at the YMCA the most and would continue to help his dad working at the hotels they owned. During the summers,…

Ota continues his recollection of going to Camp Shelby for basic training. He talks about the rivalry between the Hawaiian soldiers and the mainland soldiers and seeing segregation in the South. He would spend a year at Camp Shelby before being…

After getting wounded during the Lost Battalion campaign, Ota would return to the United States to recover and rehabilitate for about a year and a half. He discusses the recognition he received from other members of the military after the war and the…