Suzuki discusses his military history and changing assignments during his 28 years of service. He details about his family and his experiences in post-war Japan. Suzuki also discusses about his views of the military, camp experience, and the Nisei…
Takabayashi talks about his birthplace and his childhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. He discuses his parents immigration. He talks about his siblings. He describes witnessing segregation while stationed in the south. He discusses his father's career.…
Takabayashi talks about his mother's teaching career. He discusses his family business. He describes the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath. He discusses his time in the Hawaiian Territorial Guard. He briefly talks about the Varsity Victory…
Takabayashi continues to talk about his journey to the Mainland as a soldier. He goes on to describe his journey to Camp Shelby. He briefly discusses his military training. He compares his experiences while stationed in Mississippi to those in…
Takabayashi talks about his assignments while he was in the G-2 unit. He describes his first combat experience. He discusses his first interrogation of a prisoner of war. He shares his other memories of his interrogation work. Takabayashi talks about…
Takabayashi discusses being stationed in Seattle before going overseas. He describes his journey to the South Pacific. He talks about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He discusses reconnecting with his relatives who lived in Japan. He…
Takabayashi describes his military service during the Korean War. He explains the legacy of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He talks about intelligence gathering throughout his military career. He shares his experiences during the Vietnam…
Kaneshiro goes through his family background, where his parents originated from Okinawa and immigrated to Hawaii. However, on a visit back to Okinawa, his mother's visa expired and she was unable to get back to Hawaii, stranding George and his…
Kaneshiro continues his discussion on the start of the war, including various reactions from family and Executive Order 9066. After preparing for the relocation camps, they were first taken to Santa Anita race track where they would stay for a couple…
Kaneshiro gives some final notes about Rohwer Concentration Camp, including how they received news of the 442nd, recreational activities and where to go after the war had ended. Once he had left Rohwer and back in Los Angeles, Kaneshiro had trouble…
Kaneshiro talks about how the details of how he and his wife met and their marriage. Next, he discusses the best and most difficult parts of being in the Army, awards received, and his ranks throughout his time with the Army. After that, Kaneshiro…
Yoshino discusses about growing up on a farm, his home life, and his family. He details about the aftermath from Pearl Harbor and his experience with forced removal. Yoshino also discusses about his experiences in Pinedale Temporary Detention Center…
Yoshino begins the interview speaking about the surrender of Japan and a little about his childhood, growing up as a Japanese American. Next, he talks about spending a small amount of time at Tule Lake Concentration Camp and working at farms and on…
Yoshino discusses about going overseas and his experiences in both Manila and Japan. He details being discharged, going to college, and meeting his wife. Yoshino also talks about his life during retirement and the legacy of the Niseis.
Yoshino continues his recollection of his time overseas in Japan during the occupation. First, he speaks about the different assignments that he had, working as an overseer for reporting and as an interpreter for officers. Next, he speaks about the…
Saisho begins the interview speaking about his family background and how his father came over to the United States to attend school, and found his mother while working on a farm. He would grow up in various places in California until the attacks on…
Saisho speaks about his brothers that also served in the Army. Next, he speaks about the different things he did for the Army when in occupied Japan, including translating negotiations for a hotel that was being built near Sendai. After this, he was…
Riess begins the interview speaking of the background of his mother and father and the international upbringing that he had. Being born in Thessaloniki, Greece, his family then moved around Europe and the United States until finally settling in…
Riess discusses more about his father's background, including the legacy that he left in both Greece and the then Czechoslavakia. On trips back to those YMCA's, his father is still remembered by those that were there when it was first built. Next, he…
Riess discusses his free time in Japan and how his time in Japan helped his future career path. Next, he talks about visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atomic bombs and how manufacturing in Japan took off after the war for companies like Honda…
Grant Hayao Ichikawa discusses his military duties during the occupation of Japan and the Nisei and Kibei contribution as translators. Ichikawa talks about General MacArthur's plan to rebuild Japan and keeping the Emperor of Japan safe. He feels the…
Ichikawa begins the interview giving background details of his family and their farm in the Suisun Valley in California. Next, he discusses various parts of his childhood including values, Japanese language school and working for the Mayfield family,…
Grant Hayao Ichikawa discusses the language team and their assignments. He describes the difference between Kibei and Nisei and how their attributes working together up contribute to the rebuilding of Japan. Ichikawa also shares how he meets his wife…
Following the Turlock, Ichikawa and his family were moved to the Gila River Concentration Camp, where he saw posters showing that the Army needed military volunteers who could speak Japanese and work as interpreters. Once approved, Ichikawa was…
Ichikawa discusses his life following his second discharge from the Army, which included working in Sakhalin, living in Washington Heights in Tokyo and starting a family. Next, he decided to learn Indonesian and begin interpreting in Surabaya, then…
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…
Mukai discusses growing up in Hawaii including talking about the plantation town he lived in; and discusses his siblings and parents. He also describes his childhood home, talks about some of the recreational activities he participated in, and…
Mukai discusses the expatriation process he went through, attending Japanese school, and getting drafted. He then talks about what life was like for Japanese Americans after the start of the war, going to basic training in Hawaii and at Fort…
Mukai talks about items sold on the black market in Japan, living in a tea house, and assignments while in Japan, including working as an interpreter for war crime trials and being an interpreter for Hideki Tojo. He then talks about Japan and…
Mukai talks about meeting his wife in Japan and having to go through an approval process in order to get married, going to business school in Minneapolis, and moving to Japan. Mukai also talks about his daughter, and provides some advice to future…
Oishi begins the interview with his family background and moving to Hawaii from Hiroshima. He would grow up in Kona, Hawaii working at the family farm and then for his aunt at her grocery store, all while attending school and Japanese language…
Oishi continues his recollection of his time arriving in Japan during the military occupation. He would arrive in Yokosuka and head to Camp Zama, where he would see the devastation of Tokyo and the conditions for the Japanese civilians. Next, he…
Fujimoto discusses his experiences growing up in rural Colorado as a youth. He talks about how his father immigrated to Mexico before settling in the U.S. He talks about how his mother arrived in the U.S. too. He shares anecdotes regarding: his…
H. Fujimoto talks about his recollections of the Pearl Harbor attack and the aftermath which prevented him from going off to college, and how Colorado's governor Ralph Carr offered refuge for evacuated Japanese Americans. He also discusses his…
H. Fujimoto talks about how his MISLS training emphasized patience and accuracy in interpreting for the military. He also discusses his post-war life: marriage, family, and career; and the racial discrimination he faced post-war while looking for…
Okumura discusses how Kahului and Waikulu change from pre and post war, community activites and community organizations. Okumura also shares a few words for the future generations and the contribution the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) made in…
Okumura begins the interview talking about his whereabouts when the war ended and Japan surrendered and his thoughts on the atomic bomb. At the time, he was already in the Army and had gone through his training, so he was sent overseas to begin his…
Okumura talks about his marriage that began before the war, and some of his experiences while in Okinawa. Next, he talks more about reconstruction of Japan, including improving housing systems. He discusses being sansei and how he considers himself…
Harry Fukuhara describes his childhood growing up in Washington during the Great Depression. He and his family moved to Japan after his father passed away, where he attended high school. He describes the emerging wartime atmosphere in Japan during…
During the Korean War, Harry Fukuhara worked in Counterintelligence Operations while in Japan. He talks about his 40 year military career in Military Intelligence. At the end of the video clip, he offers his advice to future generations.
In this video clip, Harry Fukuhara talks about what it was like living in Japan during the Sino-Japanese War -- his family was required to house Japanese soldiers. He explains the situation of the Nisei during this time. He returned to the United…
Harry Fukuhara describes the anti-American and anti-Japanese feelings that emerged prior to the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan. He talks about the day of the Pearl Harbor attack and the confusion he felt when he heard the news.…
Harry Fukuhara was evacuated to Tulare Assembly Center in California. In this video clip, he talks about his experience living there. He and many other Japanese American internees were relocated to the Gila River concentration camp. From there, he…
Harry Fukuhara discusses his recruitment into the Military Intelligence Service, and the difficulty most Nisei and Kibei had with the decision to volunteer for military service while being interned. He talks about being sent to Minnesota (Fort…
Harry Fukuhara talks about being stationed on Angel Island on the way to the Pacific Theater. He describes his first experience with interrogating a Japanese prisoner of war, which was during a demonstration for government officials at 6th Army…
In this video clip, Harry Fukuhara describes some of his experiences in the New Guinea Campaign: crossing the Bismarck Sea, the beach landing of Finch Island, PT Boat excursions (in search of Japanese POWs), interpreting New Guinea natives, and the…
During the New Guinea Campaign, Harry Fukuhara was assigned to interrogate a Japanese POW -- who reportedly was giving everyone a hard time. Upon meeting the Japanese officer for interrogation, Harry realized that the prisoner was his childhood…
In this video clip, Harry Fukuhara describes driving through Japan to reach Hiroshima, where he returned to his old house to find his Mother and Aunt. After helping his relatives in Hiroshima, he was discharged from service, but was able to return to…
Tanabe discusses growing up in Marysville, California. He details about his educational experiences. Tanabe also discusses Pearl Harbor and the aftermath. The effects of Executive Order 9066 and his experiences at Tule Lake Concentration Camp were…
Tanabe discusses more about his experiences at Tule Lake Concentration Camp and being sent to Topaz Concentration Camp. He details about volunteering for the Army and his first encounter with racism. Tanabe also discusses his experiences at Camp Lee…
Tanabe discusses about the interrogation process. He details about how he was wounded in Okinawa. Tanabe also discusses about his time in Niigata and Occupied Japan.
Tanabe discusses about his life after getting discharged. He details about his nickname, children, and career. Tanabe also gives a message to future generations.
Yuki discusses his family and growing up in Los Angeles. He details about religion, schooling, some of the activities he did growing up. Yuki also discusses about high school and working after graduating high school.
Yuki discusses after December 7, 1941 and its aftermath. He details about getting married. Yuki also discusses about his experiences at Santa Anita Temporary Detention Center and Granada (Amache) Concentration Camp. Yuki details about being drafted…
Yuki discusses about being sent Manila and his experiences while there. He details about his duties and experiences while in Japan. Yuki also discusses about coming back home and raising a family.
Yuki discusses his son who died in the Vietnam War. He details about his children and grandchildren. Yuki also discusses about his life retirement and gives a message to future generations.
Ikemoto discusses his whereabouts during the end of the war; talks about volunteering to go to Japan post V-J Day; and discusses his experiences at Military Intelligence Language School (MISLS). He then talks about traveling to Japan via a troop…
Ikemoto discusses the military service of a Japanese colonel; talks about his interrogations and discussions with Japanese officers; and tells a story regarding a Japanese officer who visited the United States. He then talks about his interactions…
Kuwabara discusses growing up in Idaho, working on his parents farm; and becoming a state champion in a public speaking contest along with his experiences going to the national championship. He also talks about living in Utah, Japan, and California;…
Kuwabara describes life at Gila River Incarceration Camp including the living quarters, the types of employment opportunities inside the camp for incarcerees, and his experiences as block manager. He also talks about his reasons for volunteering for…
Kuwabara discusses life at Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) including the recruitment process, learning Kanji, and giving a speech at graduation. He then talks about his first assignments overseas to India and Burma, an…
Kuwabara discusses his experiences at Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) including the demographics of the graduates and his thoughts on discrimination in the military. He also talks about interrogation techniques taught at MISLS,…
Kuwabara discusses his experiences being assigned to the 36th Infantry Division (British) and the differences between American and British operations; and what it was like to earn a British Empire Medal and Bronze Stars for his service in North Burma…
Kuwabara describes his last assignment before retirement; and moving to Japan and getting a job at a public relations company as a translator. He also talks about the differences between civilian and military employment, his three marriages, and…
Takeuchi discusses about his family and his childhood. He details about Pearl Harbor, its aftermath, being drafted, and basic training. Takeuchi also discusses about his experiences at Fort Snelling, his experiences in occupied Japan, and his…
Horikawa discusses growing up in the Seattle area; talks about attending school; and discusses the Japanese American community including the employment of Issei at fishing canneries in Alaska. He then talks about his father including discussing his…
Horikawa discusses his father's life in Japan; his parents marriage; and his father's employment at a hardware store and as an inventor. He then talks about some of the inventions his father created; discusses his family's religion and attending…
Horikawa discusses his mother's death; and talks about his forced removal to Pinedale temporary detention facility where he assisted with set up prior to other incarcerees' arrival. He then talks about his forced removal to Tule Lake incarceration…
Horikawa talks about his first experiences in Europe which involved first landing in Scotland and then traveling to France to join up with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He then talks about the Lost Battalion; and provides some thoughts about…
Horikawa talks about his combat experiences in Livorno; discuses the capture of Italian POWs; and talks about his hospital stay after getting wounded in Bologna, Italy which earned him his second Purple Heart. He then talks about receiving a Bronze…
Horikawa discusses majoring in art at the University of Washington; teaching high school art; meeting his wife; and provides a message to future generations.
Mayeda discusses about his family and his parents immigration. He details about his childhood and life on the farm. Mayeda also discusses about his schooling.
Mayeda discusses about his schooling, childhood home, and community. He details about his childhood, family, and the events prior and after Pearl Harbor. Mayeda also discusses about forced removal and his children.
Mayeda discusses about his experiences at Santa Anita Detention Center. He details about his experiences in Jerome Concentration Camp, getting drafted, and basic training. Mayeda also discusses about joining the the Military Intelligence Service…
Mayeda discusses about his experiences in post-war Japan. He details about his involvement in veteran's organizations and the community. Mayeda also discusses about his post-war life and gives a message to future generations.
Shishido begins the interview talking about his family coming over from Japan to Hawaii and then moving back to Japan with his eldest brother and sister, Hiroshi choosing to stay behind with his younger brother. He would grow up on Maui, helping out…
Shishido continues his recollection of his time in occupied Japan, interpreting for the war crimes trials in Tokyo. He discusses the intricacies of the interpreting process, including body language and understanding various dialects and meanings.…
Shishido discusses more about going to the prisoner of war camps in Nagasaki and what it was like to interpret in that situation. He also talks about recreational activities during that time and the high costs for certain foods. After this, he would…
Yoshimoto discusses his childhood and what it was like growing up in Seattle, Washington. He discusses he experience being drafted into the Army. Yoshimoto also discusses his family.
Yoshimoto discusses the effects that Pearl Harbor had on him and his family. He also discusses about his time spent in the Army Air Corps before being reassigned. Yoshimoto details about the time he visited Minidoka.
Yoshimoto discusses how he ended up joining the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He also details he experiences in MIS before heading to Japan. Yoshimoto discusses his voyage to and arrival in Japan.
