Aka discusses his family and growing up in Hawaii. He details about moving to Japan for four years and his experiences upon his return. Aka also discusses Pearl Harbor and the aftermath.
Aka discusses volunteering for the service, his experiences at Camp Shelby, and being transferred to the military Intelligence Service (MIS). Aka also discusses about his first assignment, interrogation, and experiences Saipan.
Aka discusses more about his experiences in Saipan and being transferred to Japan. He details about his experiences in Japan and brief discussing his college experience. Aka also discusses about his experiences with prisoners of war (POW).
Aka discusses about his experiences in Japan. He details about his brother-in-law who fought for Japan, contact with other Military Intelligence Service (MIS) veterans, and how he met his wife. Aka also discusses about his college and career…
Aka discusses about his time spent on the Mainland. He details about his children and his veteran friends. Aka also gives a message to future generations.
Paul Takeo Bannai is born July 4, 1920, in Delta, Colorado. Paul explains the meaning of this name. Paul grows up in Utah and Colorado before moving to Boyle Heights, CA.
On December 7, Paul hears about the Pearl Harbor attack, and he reports to…
During Paul Takao Bannai's school years in Utah, and Colorado there are no Japanese American students. Paul's friends are mainly white. When he moves to Los Angeles, CA, his friends are more diverse, and he meets other Japanese Americans. Paul…
When Paul Takao Bannai hears the news of Pearl Harbor on December 7, his reaction is to help and defend the United States. Paul's parents support him and encourage him to defend America. By joining the 442nd and serving with the Military…
Paul Takao Bannai discusses Nisei in the Japanese Army and wants to learn more about their experience. In Kyoto, Paul helps organize the breweries to sell alcohol to the United States military.
After Japan, Paul has one more year of service. He…
Paul Takao Bannai's political career starts in 1972 when he is elected to Gardena City Council. Later, in 1973, he is elected to California State Legislature with the help of President Reagan and the widow of an Assemblyman. Paul is the first…
Paul Takao Bannai recalls meeting Ken Nakaoka and working in real estate in Gardena. Ken is active in the community and runs for city council, and Paul himself becomes active. Paul's political career starts when he is the Planning Commissioner. Later…
Paul Takao Bannai likes to be active in the community, but there is not enough time. Paul is part of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) for more than 60 years. Paul would like to put more time into helping Go For Broke. However, if they…
During wartime, Paul Takao Bannai receives correspondence from family and people he meets. Letters from his family wanting him to return home safely and reunite with the family. There are letters from his Army friends in Australia acknowledging his…
Doi discusses about schooling, friends, and social activities. He details about the Japanese community growing up and religion. Doi also discusses about high school, life afterwards, the Great Depression, and living own his own.
Doi discusses about living in Seattle. He details about Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. Doi also discusses about volunteering for service, the affects of incarceration, and his wife.
Doi discusses his experiences Fort Snelling, Camp Savage, and discussing Military Intelligence Service (MIS) personnel. He details his assignment in Headquarters Company. Doi also discusses about picnics and banking at Camp Savage.
Doi discusses about why he joined and his experiences in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He details about the role of Special Services and his interactions with Hawaiian soldiers. Doi also discusses about his family and experiences at…
Doi reads a description about special services. He details about his post-war career. He details about his family. Doi discusses about his antiwar protest and retirement.
Fujikawa begins the interview talking about his family background and how his family moved from San Francisco down to Los Angeles with the changing of the crops. There, he would be raised as a Christian and attend Japanese language school. He talks…
Fujikawa talks more about growing up in Los Angeles, specifically about the time that he spent in the Japanese language school. In regular school, he would take an interest in sciences, such as botany and would face some discrimination throughout his…
Fujikawa talks about his time training at Fort Snelling, studying Japanese language with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He briefly talks about his marriage background, his wife moving to Minnesota while he was at Fort Snelling. After this,…
Fujikawa continues talking about the surrender ceremony that he was on a committee for. He talks about what it was like being on the HMS Victory during the ceremony and what his duties were during that time.
Misuo and Miyo Fujikawa talk about their time after the war, moving back to Los Angeles and beginning a career in gardening. There, they would settle down and have more children, which they then talk about and the values that they've tried to teach…
Fujimori discusses what it was like growing up in California. He details about the affects that Pearl Harbor had on him and his family. Fujimori also discusses his experiences in Manzanar.
Fujimori discusses what it was like to grow up in Hollywood and cultural values. He details about his journey to the army. Fujimori also discusses his experiences at Camp Savage and Fort McClellan.
Fujimori discusses what happen after basic training. He details his experiences at Fort Snelling. Fujimori also discusses the time he spent in the Philippines.
Fujimori discusses more about his time in the Philippines. He details about his duties while stationed in Japan. Fujimori also discusses his road to being discharged.
Fujimori discusses his homecoming experiences. He details about his career after being in the military. Fujimori also discusses raising children and moving to west coast.
Fujimori reflects on being sent to American Concentration Camps and his experiences in the military. He details about the role MIS played during the war. Fujimori also discusses veteran organizations and gives a message to future generations.
Fukuda discusses Japan's surrender, the end of the war, and grasp of the Japanese language. He details about his experiences in post-war Japan working with the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU). Fukuda also reflects on his time in Japan
Fukuda discusses about his family, growing up in Hawaii, and aviation hobby. He details about December 7, 1941, volunteering for service, and his experiences at Camp Savage, Minnesota. Fukuda also discusses about his experiences in the Military…
Fukushima discusses his birth and foster parents; talks about the reasons why he was adopted; discussing his brothers; and talks about his foster father's employment. He then talks about his step-siblings; his foster parents' personalities; attending…
Fukushima discusses his experiences working on a farm; talks about his gymnastics hobby; discusses his childhood friendships; and talks about some of his childhood recreational activities such as his participation in Young Buddhist Association (YBA),…
Fukushima discusses his relationship with a sergeant; talks about Nisei soldiers who were transferred to I Company and sent to Chicago; and discusses his thoughts regarding Japan after Pearl Harbor. He then discusses his family's forced removal to…
Fukushima discusses his participation in Military Intelligence Service Language School (MIS) at Camp Savage; discusses the differences between interpreting and translating assignments; and talks about the tensions between Caucasian and Nisei…
Fukushima discusses tactics that were used when interrogating POWs; talks about his duties as a replacement soldier; and discusses his experiences in Leyte. Fukushima also talks about his experiences in Luzon; the surrender of Japan; duties in Kyoto…
Fukushima provides some thoughts regarding Military Intelligence Service (MIS) soldiers; discusses his sister who was living in Japan during World War Two; and talks about getting discharged and seeing his family again. Next, Fukushima talks about…
Fukushima discusses V-J Day; talks about his worst war experiences; and discusses the lessons he learned from World War Two. He then talks about the importance of Nisei soldiers; provides a message to future generations; and discusses the importance…
Fukushima talks about his experiences as a youth briefly living in Japan circa 1930; he had lived, and traveled, between Wakayama, Osaka, and Tokyo. He describes cultural differences and similarities between the Japanese and Japanese Americans. He…
Fukushima discusses about his experiences in post-war Japan. He details his interactions with the Japanese civilians. Fukushima also discusses about the importance of Nisei linguist
Furukawa talks about his childhood growing up in Missouri and California, and differences in race relations between the two states. He describes his parents backgrounds, and shares how his older brother did not move to America with his parents and…
Furukawa talks about his experiences and recollections regarding his draft into military service, race relations between Caucasians and Japanese Americans before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his recruitment and training in MISLS. He also…
Furukawa discusses his experiences and assignments in Manila, Philippines and post-war Japan. While in the Philippines he met General Yamashita; while in Japan he visited with relatives. Furukawa also talks about how he met his wife and their…
Gotanda discusses his experiences as an interpreter, aiding the effort to deport to Japanese nationals back to Japan, during World War 2 in China and Taiwan. He also discusses his formative years growing up in Waimea. He shares anecdotes regarding:…
Gotanda discusses his experiences working as an interpreter in the effort to repatriate Japanese citizens, in China and Taiwan, to Japan after Japan's surrender in World War 2. He shares anecdotes regarding: Taiwan, Shanghai, and being a Japanese…
Hamashige begins the interview speaking about his background growing up in Laie in Hawaii, including his childhood home and foods. Next, he talks about the background of his mother and father, who both came to Hawaii from the Yamaguchi prefecture in…
As reading interested Hamashige, he began reading a lot about the racism throughout the United States government which led to a deeper understanding of the modernization of Japan, which eventually turned to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. He speaks…
Following his language school training, Hamashige went to continued his training, going to basic, then to Fort Snelling for interpreting training before being sent out to the Philippines for his first assignment. As the war was coming to an end, the…
Hamashige talks about his family from his wife to his grandchildren and what they're doing now. Next, he shares stories of his time as a consultant in Honduras, where he was able to attend a dinner reception Dictator Samoza of Nicaragua. After this,…
Hashimoto explains how his parents immigrated to the United States. He talks about his parents marriage. He describes his father and mother. He discusses his father's accident and the way it changed his mother's role in his family. He talks about his…
Hashimoto describes his travels across Hawaii for Judo tournaments. He talks about his memories of secondary school. He describes each of his siblings lives and careers. He briefly discusses his high school graduation and his college studies.…
Hashimoto talks about the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath. He briefly discusses his religious upbringing. He describes his work with a police department. He also talks about discrimination against Japanese Americans. Hashimoto discusses…
Hashimoto talks about Camp Savage. He describes his squad's military invasion in the Pacific. He talks about his experiences while stationed in the Pacific region. He discusses his service for the Counter Intelligence Service. Hashimoto talks about…
Hashimoto talks about his military service while in the United States. He describes the new military training he received. He talks about his retirement and his security work for defense companies. He discusses double agents and his intelligence work…
Hashisaka begins the interview talking about his life, growing up on Kauai and moving to Honolulu and attending McKinley High School. He then talks about his family background, his parents came from Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan and would settle in…
Hashisaka would work at the post office as clerk until he volunteered for the Army as part of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He would first head to Schofield Barracks in Honolulu before being sent out on a victory ship to California, where…
Hashisaka talks about his assignment in the Philippines with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, capturing documents and translating them. He talks about one of the diaries that he has and the contents of it. He also talks about the…
Hashisaka discusses the war crimes trials that he was involved with, acting as a court interpreter. He brings a charge document from one of the defendants and talks about the intricacies of the trials. He would continue working at the trials until he…
Hashisaka discusses his family background, including his children and grandchildren and their involvement in the oral history program and continuing the history of the Japanese Americans. Next, he discusses telling his own personal story to his…
Takejiro Higa was born in Hawaii, but spent most of his childhood in Okinawa. When his parents died, he lived with his uncle in Okinawa until the age of sixteen, where he moved to Hawaii to live with his sister. Living in Hawaii was very different…
Takejiro Higa describes his experience on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. He talks about how reluctant and hesitant he was to volunteer for military service when the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was recruiting Nisei in Hawaii. His brother finally…
Higa discusses his duties providing intelligence about Okinawa for his commanding officers, as they prepared for a beachfront invasion. He describes the feelings that he had upon his return to Okinawa, and his experience cave flushing, which helped…
Higa describes his experiences interrogating Okinawans during the Okinawa Invasion. During his service in Okinawa, he was able to visit his relatives. When the war ended, he did not have enough points to be sent home, so he was sent to Korea to…
Higa recalls returning to Hawaii after being discharged from service. He returned home to finish high school, then became a butcher. He then returned to school to earn his accounting degree, after marrying his wife and having two sons. He presents a…
Higashino and the interviewers introduce themselves. He talks about his parents. He describes what it was like to grow up in a household with three generations of family. He discusses his educational background. He shares his knowledge of Japanese.…
Higashino describes photographs shown on camera. He continues to talk about Japanese language school. He describes his cultural heritage. He discusses volunteering for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He talks about his journey to the Mainland and…
Higashino talks about his interpretation and interrogation work. He describes his return to New Delhi. He discusses volunteering to go to China. He talks about his return to the United States. He shares his other memories of South East Asia. He…
Hirabayashi recounts his early life being raised on a farm in Washington state and later attending school in Japan. Upon returning to the United States and joining the military, Hirabayashi dealt with the dichotomy of serving his country while the…
Hirabayashi discusses his time at Jefferson Barracks and studying in the Military Intelligence Language School. He discusses being chosen for a secret mission with the Military Intelligence Service and deployed to Southeast Asia with Merrill's…
Hirabayashi discusses his service with Merrill's Marauders and the 5307th division in Burma. Upon arrival, Allied forces were pushed back by the Japanese army before making inroads to reclaim Burma for the Allies. Hirabayashi discusses the struggles…
Hirabayashi discusses his specific role in Merrill's Marauders, including details of covert missions and interrogation tactics. The interrogation of POWs is discussed as well as the capture of "comfort girls", women forced into sexual slavery. The…
Hirabayashi discusses his time serving as an interrogator in Chongqing, China where he learned of the development of a Japanese atomic bomb. This portion contains thoughts on the dropping of both American atomic bombs on Japan and Hirabayashi's…
Hirabayahi offers a descriptive account of the Japanese surrender in China and discusses his role in various war crimes trials. Much discussion is placed on life after the military including a reunion with his parents, attending college, meeting his…
