1 100 8 https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/506a28cd4f5b53eadd74b031b3b0532b.pdf e4c91a256bfee360c4bfa7329fcc9ca7 PDF Text Text Go For Broke National Education Center Oral History Project Oral History Interview with Joseph Ichiuji, June 26, 1999, Arlington, Virginia INTERVIEWER: Okay, today is June 26, 1999, and we are interviewing Joseph Ichi---could you help me with that? ICHIUJI: Ichiuji. INTERVIEWER: Ichiuji. ICHIUJI: Yes. INTERVIEWER: And I am Ian Kawata, interviewing. We have Kenji Luster on camera, Craig Yahata doing audio and cataloguing, and we are in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. Joseph, could you tell me your full name and where you were born? ICHIUJI: Okay. My name's Joseph Ichiuji and I was born in Salinas, California, February 14, 1919. Quite a time. INTERVIEWER: And who were your parents? ICHIUJI: My father was Kikujiro Ichiuji and my mother was Katsu Sobe, they're from Shimane-ken, Japan. INTERVIEWER: What was your---oh, and brothers and sisters? ICHIUJI: I have---I’ll start from the top. Mickey Ichiuji and then I come next, then I have a brother named Jimmy Ichiuji, and I have a sister, Kazume Oishi, she's married to Mas Oishi of Kailua, and then my brother Paul Ichiuji and Harry Ichiuji. I had a sister, Lucy, and she was killed in a auto accident when she was a baby, so actually we had seven of us. INTERVIEWER: What was it like in---while you were growing up as a child in Pacific Grove? ICHIUJI: (02:00) We---in growing up in Pacific Grove, I had a lot of Caucasian friends and we used to play together. We got to be good friends in school. And then I also had obligation to help my father, even though I was going to grammar school. I used to go help my father when I didn't have to go to a Japanese school. But we had, as I say, even though we had to go a grammar school, we also had to go to Japanese school which is located two and a half miles from where I lived, so it was a very long day for us in those days. But on weekends we used to get together and play football and, you know, had some This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 1 of 29 �good times together. So, I kind of enjoyed the boyhood days. But, like I say, you know, even though we had good camaraderie with our schoolmates, we were never accepted socially and we were never invited to birthday parties and stuff like that. So, in that respect we were sort of discriminated against because we were Japanese. INTERVIEWER: And this was even before the bombing of Pearl Harbor? ICHIUJI: Oh yes. Yes, that existed before the Pearl Harbor, yes. And it's a shame the way we were treated. And as I said, you know, I had a lot of friends that had gone to college and they were never able to use their education because of racialism against the Japanese. They don't want to see Japanese succeed in these professional ranks. (04:00) And I guess Depression had a lot to do with it, too, at that time. INTERVIEWER: What was the area like that you grew up in at that time? ICHIUJI: As far as Pacific Grove was concerned, my father was accepted in the business area. He knew the mayor of the city and he knew the chief of police, fire chief and, you know, all these businessmen. So, we were pretty well accepted in our small town, so we weren't subject to too much---we were treated on a friendly basis, but we were not accepted wholly, you know. And, for instance, myself, after I graduated from high school, my association with the white, my friends, stopped. I had to go to Monterey and start associating with the Japanese group, my own group. And that's how it was, both socially and---or going to church. INTERVIEWER: What were the fun things you did as a kid? ICHIUJI: Pardon me? INTERVIEWER: What were some of the fun things you did as a kid? ICHIUJI: As I say, I---as a kid we used to play backyard football with our neighbors, you know. And we also went hiking and camping and we also went fishing, Carmel River. And we had a good time in those days. But as I say, we were not treated equally (06:00) as far as social's concerned. INTERVIEWER: How did you do in Japanese school? ICHIUJI: I went to book 11. I don't know whether I did well or not, but they passed anyways. But I was able to write in kanji and katakana, and I was able to read properly. But, as time went on, I just lost the use of it. Especially when we moved out to east, you know, I just lost it, period. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 2 of 29 �INTERVIEWER: At home what language did you speak? ICHIUJI: Broken Japanese. And mostly, my mother, she spoke Japanese, so I had to speak Japanese. INTERVIEWER: And what religion did you practice? ICHIUJI: Presbyterian. I was baptized as a Methodist, but then that was when---before my---before I was registered in high school. After high school I went to Monterey for Japanese Presbyterian Church. INTERVIEWER: What was high school like for you? ICHIUJI: I think you still had the same camaraderie from grammar school days, and I did quite well in mathematics, science and chemistry, and I went out for sport but I was a mediocre second string. So then I served in the student body, and I enjoyed going to high school. INTERVIEWER: (08:00) What were some of your favorite things in high school? ICHIUJI: Well, I liked---I excelled in math so I became my teacher’s aide, I guess. I used to help my friend after school and help with mathematics, and I enjoyed that very much. I also---even though I was not very good in sport I enjoyed going out for basketball, and you get to travel, go out of town and so forth, so I enjoyed that. INTERVIEWER: What were some of the social activities that you did during that time growing up, teenage years? ICHIUJI: Well, socially, I think, social---I became more active socially after high school, in going to Monterey and going to church and meeting people there. And after that we started going to dances and skating parties and so forth. So actually that's what happened, socially. INTERVIEWER: Were you a pretty good dancer? ICHIUJI: Yeah, pretty good. That's why girls were all after me. [Laughs.] INTERVIEWER: What type of music did you like to listen to at that time? ICHIUJI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 3 of 29 �Very slow music. Foxtrot-type music. And there was no jitterbug or anything like that in my days. You start picking it up just when we were in camp. Yeah. So---and, you know, the JACL used to have their annual dances, so people from Watsonville, Salinas, and have that joint annual dance, so we knew that, too. This is after the war, I mean, this is after high school days. (10:00) INTERVIEWER: So as a teenager, what community did you or how did you identify yourself, American –Japanese, Japanese-American? ICHIUJI: I considered myself American, but I know there was so little difference, I sometime wondered, you know, why wasn't I born like the other whites, you know, so I'd be readily accepted. But when I think of all Japanese Americans, we were raised as Americans, so . . . Of course, you know, my folks instilled some Japanese desires, I guess, whadyacall, they try to tell us that, you know, in order to succeed, you have to get higher education, and so, work for that. And my father was a very disciplinary person, so make sure that we walked a straight line. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So would you say you grew up in a very strict, disciplinary way? ICHIUJI: Yes, yes, I was, yes. There was sometime we would rebel, you know, but he put the hand down. INTERVIEWER: So who was the disciplinarian in your house? ICHIUJI: My father. And sometimes my mother took over, too. Yeah. Of course, she had to raise, you know, how many children. There's six of us, you know, she had a rough time, yeah. INTERVIEWER: And . . . ICHIUJI: But they had pretty much under control; things were pretty much under control for them. INTERVIEWER: Did they instill any Japanese type of teachings, like bushido? (12:00) ICHIUJI: No. Well, they mentioned that, you know, in order to succeed that you must do more than what the other person did. That's what they're trying to tell you. Because you were Japanese, in that climate, in order to succeed you have to do over and above what's required. And based on that I---why I came here, I used that same approach to the war. INTERVIEWER: When did you graduate high school? What year? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 4 of 29 �ICHIUJI: 1937. So, you know, I was almost 22 at the time, '41. INTERVIEWER: So, leading up---going through high school, after you graduated high school, what did you do? ICHIUJI: After I graduated from high school I helped my father in business, shoe repairing business. And then my mother started working for the---went into fish cannery, so my mother said, why don't you, you know, help her, too, so I could drive the car and take her to the fish cannery and stuff like that. So my mother and I worked in the fish cannery after I graduated from high school. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what cannery it was? ICHIUJI: Yes, San Carlos Canning Company. INTERVIEWER: And where was that located? ICHIUJI: That was, if you know Monterey, going north, it was the first cannery going toward New Monterey. Do you know where the Presidio of Monterey is? Oh, you know, okay. That was the first cannery going north. (14:00) INTERVIEWER: And tell me how---what that was like, the fish cannery business during that time? ICHIUJI: It was seasonal, and when the fish come in, you go in when they call you at all hours of the day or evening. And you have to wear waterproof, you know, apron and boots and so forth. And it was sort of a dirty job because they use the---they use us as laying the fish on a tray, revolving trays, so that the tray will move toward a revolving knife and it'll cut the fish, a certain section, and that certain section will fall into a can. And based on the weight, the can will revolve and that will registered how many cans you're cutting, and you're paid based on that. INTERVIEWER: And what was the pay? ICHIUJI: I forgot what it was. I think we were making about $20 dollars an hour or something like that. Pretty good money. But it was seasonal, you know, so . . . And it was something, but it was hard work. You just stand there and just---as the fish come in from the trolley, you know, you grab the fish by the head and sometimes you grab two at a time, you know. The faster you cut, the more the can will revolve and will register how many were cut, so it was piecemeal. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 5 of 29 �What was Monterey like in 1937? ICHIUJI: Well, Monterey was a small town, it was (16:00) located near the Fort Ord, you know, army camp, and because of that it was so lively at weekends. And then you had---fishing was the main industry in Monterey. You had Japanese fishermen, you also had Sicilian fishermen, so it was sort of a resort, too. People liked to come to Monterey and---because it was located near Carmel which is very famous for its Pebble Beach and so forth. And people liked to visit Monterey because it also has historical significance because it was the first capital of California. And there's a lot of historical sites within Monterey. And you had Fisherman's Wharf and you had restaurants there and so forth. INTERVIEWER: So what would you do during your off time? ICHIUJI: Off time. I don't know, I guess I---I don't know. I don't know what I did. Is it after . . . INTERVIEWER: Like after work or on the weekends when you didn't have to work? ICHIUJI: Oh, I used to come home and listen to radio and do some reading. I did a lot of reading, too. INTERVIEWER: Did you have your own car? ICHIUJI: No, (18:00) I didn't have my own car, no. We had two cars, family cars, but I didn't have my own car, no. INTERVIEWER: Did you have any hobbies? ICHIUJI: Yes, I used---I collected stamps. And what else did I do? As I say, I like to go fishing, so we used to go fishing quite a bit, trout fishing. And, let's see, what else did I do? I know I did a lot of reading in those days. And chased girls. [Laughs.] No, I'm just kidding. INTERVIEWER: So what were the dances like that you went to? ICHIUJI: Well, dances were---we used to wear, you know, our coats and we dressed properly, and girls did too. And we had a lot of fun because we used to meet girls from cit---other town and you danced with your friends, too, so we had a good time. INTERVIEWER: Where were the dances held at? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 6 of 29 �ICHIUJI: They where held at the American Legion hall, on top of the mount---hill, I remember. And it was held by JACL chapter. So we had people from Salinas and Watsonville. Some people came from San Francisco sometimes. So we had a good time. INTERVIEWER: Were there always---I know when I was growing up we used to go to dances a lot, too, and were there are any, like, girls or certain groups that were known to be real popular? ICHIUJI: Yes. Oh yeah. Because of their dancing ability and looks, yes. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any of them? (20:00) ICHIUJI: Some of them, yes. I know there is a girl by the name of May Naqao from Salinas she's very nice. And I've forgotten the names of some of 'em. Gee, I forgot their names already. INTERVIEWER: So what was the in thing during that time? ICHIUJI: Pardon me? INTERVIEWER: What was the hip thing to do during that time when you would go to these dances? ICHIUJI: Well, when you go to dance you take the girl to go to dinner, take her to go dinner, and then go dance, and then you take 'em home, that's it. [Laughs.] INTERVIEWER: Moving up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, how did that change your life, and do you remember where you were? ICHIUJI: Yes. I was, you know, I just finished my basic training at Camp Roberts, and I was home on furlough and we went to San Francisco to see my cousin. He was in the Army, too, he was drafted, and he was ready to go to Philippines, and so we went to see him off. And he was stationed at Angels Island, and after we came home---back from Angels Island, we saw newspaper boy selling Extra, it says, “Japs Bomb Pearl Harbor,” big headlines, and he was yelling and selling the paper. And she was shocked when she saw that. You know, you being (22:00) of Japanese ancestry, we felt terrible about the whole thing, and my folks felt terrible, too. And so we got in our car and we turn on the radio and, sure enough, the news was buzzing with news about the bombing. And he also said, “All servicemen report to base immediately." So we hurried back home to Monter---Pacific Grove and I went back to the base. There were some question about how I would be treated because, you know, I was of Japanese extraction, but there's no bad feeling about it, they kind of sympathized with us, how we felt, you know. So, that was a This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 7 of 29 �terrible time, it sure was. I didn't expect that to happen, you know, because like I say, you know, I felt that we were trained for European Theater, more so than Japan. But I think there was a lot of feeling of animosity toward Japan because, you know, you see the cars with big signs that say “Don't trade with Japs” or something like that, so there were bad feelings towards Japanese. INTERVIEWER: How did that make you feel being in the service? ICHIUJI: When Pearl Harbor happened? INTERVIEWER: Mmm-hmm. ICHIUJI: Yeah, I felt bad about the whole thing. I don't know why I should feel (24:00) bad, but being an American citizen, you know, but were wouldn't [clears throat], excuse me. But, you know, being raised as a America and you feel like you're an American citizen, but yet there's that feeling that, you know, how the other people react to us because we're Japanese, and I didn't know how they would react to me. But being an American citizen, I felt real bad because it was the country that my folks came from. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember the President’s speech after the bombing? ICHIUJI: I remember I listened to talk, but not too much. I know that they declared a war against Japan and also they declared war against Germany and Italy at the same time. So we were at war at that time. INTERVIEWER: What happened when you reported to duty after the bombing? ICHIUJI: As I said, I thought---I was kind of worried about how they'll treat me, but they didn't treat me badly at all, they sympathized with me. It's hard feeling. And I remember, you know, after I finished my basic training, we were scheduled to go to Fort Warren, Wyoming. And---but that outfit moved to Fort Lewis, Washington, the 41st Division. So when the war---after the Pearl Harbor they changed the order (26:00) to go---to move to Fort Lewis, Washington, so we were sent there. And I remember taking the train ride and I talked to my buddies and they really sympathized with me. They really felt, you know, that "It's not your fault, you know, you're an American citizen,” you know. And so I felt good about that. But once I got to Fort Lewis, Washington, there was this---I remember I was assigned to a gun section, I think it was Battery F for 188 Field Artillery Battalion [of] the 41st Division. Remember they were removed from Fort Wyoming to Fort Lewis, Washington. So once we got ourselves settled in Fort Lewis we went to a [indiscernible] maneuver for about 45 days in some gun emplacement along the west coast of Washington. And after we got through, we went back to the base and I was removed from the gun section, and they put me in the front office as an orderly. I guess maybe they want to keep on eye on me, I guess. And so while---a week, they gave me my discharge papers that said that, “You're discharged This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 8 of 29 �for the convenience of the government.” And they didn't tell me why, you know, they just---only for the convenience of the government. INTERVIEWER: How did that make you feel? ICHIUJI: I felt bad about it, you know. And I didn't do anything wrong, you know. I said, "Why would they kick me out of the Army?" And I just got to know these fellows from North Dakota and Nebraska; most of 'em are of German descent, you know, and we got to be good buddies. And I felt real bad about the whole thing. It made me cry, I think. (28:00) And they saw me off, you know, and I said goodbye. And that was one of the low point of my life during World War II. So I went home, took part in the evacuation. And, you know, the Executive Order 9066 had just been issued, and when I went home, my father and mother already had moved to Dinuba. See, Dinuba was unrestricted areas. So, when I went back home I helped my brother Mickey and the rest of my brothers prepare ourself for evacuation. So my brother rented the business to a co-worker; he's to take care of it. And then we had a very close friend of German descent, he wanted to watch over our house, even our car, so we had a car in the garage. And we locked up the home and we went to Ridley, California. My father, my mother and his friends was able to find a house in Reedley, California. My father and mother and his friends were able to find a house in Reedley, which is not too far from Dinuba. So I took my two brothers and their friends, Uchida family, they're young kids yet. So I drove from a certain road to outskirts of Fresno. And, you know, Fresno's very hot. So my brother and their friends, they wanted to get some ice cream. So we found an ice cream parlor (30:00) on the outskirts of Fresno, and we all got out and ran to the parlor. And we were standing there and a lady was there behind the counter and she looked at us and she won't serve us. I said, you know, “We want some ice cream,” and she says, “We don't serve Japs.” I said, so, you know, “I just got out of the Army.” So I said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” So I just grabbed them and went out. That was my first exposure to real bad discrimination. BEGINNING OF TAPE TWO INTERVIEWER: Okay. I just want to back up a little bit. ICHIUJI: Mmm-hmm. INTERVIEWER: When were you drafted? ICHIUJI: In September of ’41. INTERVIEWER: And where was that? ICHIUJI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 9 of 29 �That was in Pacific Grove. And then we had to go to San Francisco for induction, and then we came back. And then we came back to the City of Monterey. We stayed for about a couple of weeks, and I was assigned to Camp Roberts, California, for basic training artillery. INTERVIEWER: And where is Camp Roberts? ICHIUJI: It’s north of San Luis Obispo. You know where Camp Maria is? Do you know? Oh. It’s just north of San Luis Obispo. INTERVIEWER: What was that like when you reported to basic training? ICHIUJI: It was something new, you know, you’re so regimented and you gotta do what they tell you to do, and you felt like it has to be---your clothing, everything has to be arranged so neatly, and I’m not used to that. You don’t have to make bed a certain way. You had to get up early in the morning, and also you have to---your schedule, you don’t have your own time. Or in times, after hours. You get to know---you get to meet a lot of people from all over the United States, it was sort of an experience for me. Not only, you know, the Spanish people (02:00) I met and some Japanese, too, new people, Japanese Niseis from that area. INTERVIEWER: What were some of the things that you did during basic training? ICHIUJI: During basic training, oh, you mean---I know that we had certain duties like picking up papers, you know, cleaning duties. I don’t recall whether I had KP duty or not. I don’t think I did. But we learned how to shoot howitzers, 155mm howitzers. We learned how to drive a prime mover, a big, back---kind of a white truck. We used to---we drove that on top of the hill going up, and I never drove a truck in all my life, and I was scared going up the hill driving that thing. And that was the worst part of my training. But other things that we learned how to shoot rifles. We used the old Springfield rifles they used in World War I, and I remember we went to a range, gun range, rifle range. And I remember I was in prone section aiming my gun at the target. You know what I see? About 50 yards, I see a big tarantula crawling up that, and I dread spiders, you know. And---but it made me shoot, you know, I missed the target by doing that. So I’m not---I wasn't too good in (04:00) rifle, long-range rifle firing. But I remember when we came back to bivouac area, there was a hole in the ground, and there was a tarantula. It really made me---I didn’t care for it at all. But that was quite an experience for me, seeing--going to a firing range and see that spider. But I learned that you also had to learn how to maintain your weapons, clean the weapons, stuff like that. You’ve got to learn how to take the gun apart and assemble it together. And I became a temporary corporal. INTERVIEWER: What was the---what's---tell me about the howitzer and what that’s like. ICHIUJI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 10 of 29 �The howitzer that I trained with, 1-5-5, and we also fired the 75mm French guns. There’s a picture I have. The 1-5-5 is a heavy gun. I don’t know how---what the range was; more than seven miles, I think. The procedure was different from the 1-0-5 that we used in the 5-2-2 in that the 1-5-5 was a heavier gun, and when you load it, you load your projector first. I think there was a piece---you lay this howitzer on top of the---I forgot how it (06:00) was. Anyway, you had to load the projector first, then you put your powder in, the charge in, then you close the breech. And then you had to elevate and you move your gun left to right, and you pull the lanyard. And the explosion was tremendous. It’s much more than the 1-0-5. So---and the gun would just jump, you know, after firing. So that was quite an experience. I remember we went on the maneuvers in Camp Roberts. And it was something to give the burst of cannon fire, yeah. But I’ll tell you one thing; I was very happy that---I was very fortunate I was---had my basic training in artillery because later on, it affected my---because when I volunteered, I could have been infantry. I wouldn’t be here talking to you. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So what was that like? Do you remember the first time you shot that howitzer? ICHIUJI: It really shook me. Because, you know, being near the gun when you fire, it's a tremendous impact, explosion, you know. And it shook me. And I learned how to keep my ears closed, yeah. So---and then you learn how to operate the gun as a team. Each man has certain duty (08:00) to do and you just perform those in a systematic way, and you’re ready for fire. INTERVIEWER: And can you tell me how the---what is the team made up of again? ICHIUJI: Okay. The order will come, say, elevation so much, so a number of men would elevate---there’s a meter that you follow to elevate the thing. And then, once it’s elevated, then I think the gunner would say, I mean, the officer said, "Mils left, five," and he'll move the gun that way or that way. And then they say, "Load the projector," and say number---and then they tell you how---number of charges. See, charge comes in various bags. So there’s a charge five and you put five bags in there, and then put that in the howitzer breech, and then close the breech. And when everything's set, the gunner says, “Set!” And that tells the officer back here that we’re ready for fire. So he gives the command, everybody pulls the lanyard and it fires. INTERVIEWER: And how long does that take? ICHIUJI: It takes few seconds. It’s very fast. And it seemed like we operated much faster, 5-2-2, because our guys were more---was much more maneuverable, you know. And the projector in 1-0-5 came with a casing. So you take the projector off the casing and then you use the number of charges or bags that they tell---call for. And if this [indiscernible] is about five there, and he says three charges, then we remove two and (10:00) put it together and jam it in that way. INTERVIEWER: How big is that shell? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 11 of 29 �ICHIUJI: The shell's about---the projector's about this long, about this long. And it's about this round. So the shell's about this long. So, the whole thing is about this long. So it's much easier to ram it into the breech this way. Whereas the other way, the projector is much larger, and you have to---I think there’s a carrying case or something and bring it to the breech and shove it in; there’s a rod that you shove it in with. Then you put the charges in, and then you close the breach and fire. INTERVIEWER: So then after you’re discharged, then you---that’s when you went back home and your family was already packing? ICHIUJI: Yes. Yes, they were at home. And so they were pretty well settled because, as I said, you know, my father was business---had a business and knew all the mayors and chief of police, and they were pretty well accepted. We were one of the fortunate ones that were accepted back into the community. And my father was able to get back the business from this guy, he gave it back to us, and the home was kept intact. And we're lucky. And, in fact, my father helped a lot of these Japanese that weren’t able to relocate to their homes so they came into Monterey area. And he had a friend who was a real estate agent, and he and my father found a place to stay and live. So because of that, (12:00) my father was given a distinguished service award from the JACL for helping people relocate in the area. INTERVIEWER: When your family had to move, where were they relocated to? ICHIUJI: First they relocated to Reedley, California, because that was unrestricted at the time. We stayed there for three months and then we were given orders to move out. So my father and my mother decided to go to camp because we heard bad stories about people going west, they weren't accepted as well. Not west, but east. And so my father said, "Let’s go to camp," so that’s what we did. We moved to Poston 3 in August of ’42. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what your parents felt and what they might have said, or what they said in this whole process of moving the family out of Pacific Grove? ICHIUJI: Well, they didn’t like the idea of, you know, evacuating from their home, you know. And they couldn’t understand why they would be evacuated from the West Coast, just because they’re Japanese. They didn’t do anything wrong, you know, and so they were pretty mad about the whole thing. But they went along with the evacuation order and so did the Niseis, they all said the same thing. I think that pretty much the way the JACL leaders had---they wanted to cooperate with the government, so they pretty much went along with the idea at that time. As far as evacuation is concerned, (14:00) they moved---everybody ordered, I mean, they pretty much went along with the idea, except for maybe a few, you know. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what you felt personally? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 12 of 29 �ICHIUJI: Pardon me? INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what you felt personally? ICHIUJI: I felt real bad because, you know, being discharged out of the Army and you had to go back home, and seeing we had to evacuate our homes, you know, I feel real bad about the whole thing. You know, you're an American citizen, and we didn’t do anything wrong, and yet we’re treated like an enemy alien. And so I felt pretty bad about it. And then we're faced with this discrimination against an ice cream parlor. That really made me feel bad. But we accepted the evacuation, and while we were in Reedley, we helped the farmers with their fruit picking and stuff like that. And since we didn’t have any experience, I remember we were hired to pick some peaches, and we were given step ladders, you know, and lean against the branches. And we didn’t know how to do that, so we leaned that step ladder against the branch and break the branches, and we picked the fruit, and we ate most of it. So at the day’s end, you know, instead of paying us, they want to sue us for damages. So we stopped that. We also went to work in a grape vineyard. We had to---there was an instrument where you peel the bark. I think what it does (16:00) do---so that the water will come through and stay in the grape and not pull back in, something like that. We worked on that. And they warned us not to---watch out for black widow spiders. Sure enough, the big, black widow spiders right on the vineyard. So we had a lot of fun working in the farm. It’s the first experience. INTERVIEWER: What was Poston like? ICHIUJI: Well, Poston was, well, I never had exposure to other camps, but it seemed like it was a camp made up of hastily-built barracks with a tarpaper covering, you know. And you see rows and rows of barracks. And when we go off to Flagstaff, I think we got on the bus, [indiscernible], we had to go by the Camp 1 and 2 and 3. Camp 1 and 2 were already filled with people, and we were the last to get into Camp 3. And when we got off the bus, we were all assigned a unit within a block, and so they took us to our unit. And I remember it was Block 308. And, if I remember correctly, I think there was two rows of barracks, I think there was seven on each side and one ended up as a mess hall. And the other was the recreation hall or manager’s office. And in between was the lavatories for men and women, (18:00) and laundry room. And so that’s the make-up of the block. And I remember we were assigned to an end unit. I think barracks were divided into four units, and we were assigned to an end unit and I think the size was 20x24, and, you know, here there was eight of us in that small unit. INTERVIEWER: We’re going to stop right there and switch out the batt . . . [Interview stops, then resumes.] CREW MEMBER: Okay, we're speed. INTERVIEWER: [Dog barking in background.] Do you have kids outside? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 13 of 29 �ICHIUJI: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Should we wait? [Interview stops, then resumes.] ICHIUJI: We pretty much went along because we're, you know, we weren't accepted fully as American citizens. So under that climate, I guess, we had to go along. INTERVIEWER: Did your parents teach you the attitude of that Japanese attitude of shikata ga nai? ICHIUJI: I guess so. They also said shikata ga nai, you know. Yeah, I think so. INTERVIEWER: Did you feel that at that age? Because you were old enough to understand constitutional rights? ICHIUJI: Yeah. Yeah, even though we were deprived of our civil rights and personal freedom, I think we went along with the idea that we had to go along. And we went with---we're all good JACL, they usually tell us to go along with the evacuation. But, you know, under current---today’s climate, I don’t think we would have. We wouldn’t have. And JACL was, you know, was not a strong civil rights organization at the time. (20:00) And, you know, before the war, the Isseis, the head of the association, they were the leaders of the community. And they lost all that because a lot of these were put in camp, you know. So the JACL had to take over. And young guys, you know, in their twenties and early twenties, so I guess the national leader took upon himself that we had to cooperate; otherwise, if you do not cooperate, it would be bad for us, I guess. I guess [indiscernible] was involved, and I think he's right. Suppose all of us resisted evacuation, what would happen? They probably use a gun saying, you know, they force us into camp. I think that was it. That's my feeling, anyway. INTERVIEWER: Was it hard for you to see your parents have to endure this? ICHIUJI: Well, my parents pretty much went along with the evacuation, too, so I, you know, I [indiscernible] too. I felt it’s a necessity, you know, even though it was not right. You’re taken away from your home, your friends, and put in a camp that's in the middle of a desert, surrounded by barbed wire fence, and guarded by armed soldiers. It’s a hell of a thing to do, you know, for American citizen, and you're treated like an enemy alien, you know, that was a pretty bad thing. But still, like you said, shikata ga nai, we had to do it, (22:00) and we went along with the idea. But I---once you get into camp, I think people start thinking about their rights. So you had a lot of no-no boys and stuff like that. And they were in their rights, they were in their right because they were deprived of their civil liberties and personal freedom and constitutional rights. But, in my case, I went the other way. I felt that, even though you’re placed in a camp, I mean, you were placed in a camp, so how do you overcome this? How do you get out of here? I felt that you had to take advantage of volunteering for 442nd Combat Team, even though This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 14 of 29 �I was discharged before and kicked out. I felt that here’s my chance again to prove that I was a loyal American citizen, to serve my country and to prove to the outside that we were true, loyal citizens, so we could go back to our homes again. Now, also, that was the only way to get out of this camp. INTERVIEWER: How long did you stay in camp before you volunteered? ICHIUJI: I stayed in camp from August ’42 to about April ’43. I volunteered for 4-4-2 in about February ’43, so I was there about eight months. INTERVIEWER: What did you do during that eight months in camp? ICHIUJI: Well, you know, once you got in the camp, you start organizing just like a small town. You start setting up a fire station, police station, health unit. (24:00) And you start timekeeping for payrolls. So I got involved in timekeeping, keeping track of people working just for $12, $16, $19 a month. So I got a job as a timekeeper, watched people work. You just go through the motions. But, you know, camp was very much like in the army. And you're assigned a number and you have to line up for mess and toilet and showers. And my folks lost control of the family. They don’t have a family life anymore because, you know, back home, we used to eat at least once in the evening. The whole family got together and ate. But once you get in camp, you lost that. You ate with your friends, so you never ate with your family. Father---no one became breadwinner. So in that respect, I think the parents lost control of the children, too. It’s kind of bad. It was quite a conversion for them. INTERVIEWER: How did that affect your father being he was the head of the family and a strong disciplinarian? ICHIUJI: Yeah, well, he lost that. He lost that. Yeah. Yeah, I guess he no longer had to control the family. So in that respect, I think he felt pretty bad about that. And my mother too, I guess. My mother was always a house---she was (26:00) at home all the time. Of course she worked in the fish cannery. Most of her life she was a housewife. Now she got to mingle with other people, and so in that respect, I don’t know how my mother---I think she felt more liberated to do things that she wanted to do. So, anyway . . . But, you know, as time went on, we got accustomed to camp life and we tried to make the best of it. We formed a 20/30 Club. I don’t know if you’ve heard about the 20/30 Club, but it's people between the age of 20 and 30, we got together for social events. So we had a---we formed a club, and the girls did the same and we went to dance together on weekends or church and stuff like that, movies. So we tried to make the best of our camp life. Tried to reestablish ourselves within the camp; to carry on what we did outside. INTERVIEWER: Had you ever seen so many Asians in one place before reaching camp? ICHIUJI: No. No. I never saw so many in all my life. I saw some good ones and bad ones, but I met a lot of people. I met a lot of people. So---but, you know, as people start settle in camp, there were some This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 15 of 29 �resentment against JACL leaders that considered themself---they used to call them "inu" and this, because they provided names to the FBI, cooperated with the FBI. So they was a lot of resentment against them. INTERVIEWER: We're gonna change tape on that note. (28:00) BEGINNING OF TAPE THREE INTERVIEWER: So, we’re in the internment camps---getting back to how the internment camp experience broke up the nucleus of the family, do you think it was hard on your father, for that to happen? Did you see any signs of . . . ICHIUJI: No, I think he associated with his friends and they're playing "go" and stuff like that. But as far as my father's concerned, before I went to Camp Shelby or being inducted for the second time, I helped him set up a shoe repair franchise within the camp, and so we were able to get machinery and equipment and set up a shoe repairing business there. So he was in charge of that, he was the manager. And he became pretty well-known in camp because I think he taught a lot of people how to repair shoes. So he's very popular in camp, so he didn’t do so bad. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What are some of the memories that you have of camp that stick out the most in your mind? ICHIUJI: Well, I think my first exposure really sticks out in my mind because you're going from a family like home, back home, and you’re going into a regimented type of life and you see these barracks and (02:00) you’re put into a small unit and you have to use sheets or blankets as partitions, you know, between ourselves and . . . So you had only room for living quarters, I guess, so the only time you see your father and mother is when you come back in the evening and so forth. But we had our---everybody had their own thing to do and the fact that you line up for mess, you don’t have your private bathroom, something like that, so it was sort of quite a change for us, especially in bad weather, you know, when you have to walk through cold weather and, you know, the ground's muddy, and if you want to go bathroom you had to decide whether you should go or not to fight the weather and stuff like that. That’s part of change. Also, I remember when we---a friend of mine wanted to make breakfast for the first time. He didn’t have no experience of cooking, but he took himself to make breakfast, the whole block, so we helped him, you know, scramble egg and all that stuff. I didn’t know anything about cooking or anything but we got into it. Eventually, he was removed for, you know, professional people came in took over. But that’s the exposure we had until, you know, we took upon ourselves to do things because we thought it was necessary, until it was organized. So, that was quite an experience for me. INTERVIEWER: What was the saddest (04:00) moment that you experienced in those eight months at camp? ICHIUJI: What? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 16 of 29 �INTERVIEWER: What was your saddest moment during those eight months at camp that you remember? ICHIUJI: The . . . INTERVIEWER: Saddest. ICHIUJI: Status? INTERVIEWER: Yeah, your saddest moment. ICHIUJI: Well, my status . . . Are you talking about my occupation? INTERVIEWER: Oh no, no, sad, sad, being sad. ICHIUJI: Oh being sad. Oh, well, the fact that I was uprooted from my friends, you never get see your friends anymore because you moved from the area. Instead of going to the assembly center, we went---we moved out of the area and went to Reedley and made new friends. But all my old friends went somewhere else. So we never---we lost contact and in that respect. And, of course, I didn’t have a steady girlfriend so it didn’t make me that bad [laughs], so . . . INTERVIEWER: What was the---what would you say is the happiest moment that you remember in camp? ICHIUJI: Well, the happiest moment is that I was given an opportunity to serve, to prove yourself as a loyal American citizen. After being kicked out and treated like an enemy alien, I thought it's a good chance for me to prove (06:00) that I was a loyal American and I could serve my country. That kind of opened the door for me. That was the highlight of my life, because it really opened the door for me. Because the fact that I served the Army, made a good record, and because of that, I was given GI Bill of Rights benefits and I was able to go to college, and I came here to go to school and I graduated, got a job with the government and, as I say, I got married and had two children and I have three grandchildren, and they all settled here in the East Coast. And after 37 years of service I retired from the government. And I was a deputy division chief at the time, so . . . And, you know, the government gave you good pension, so we’re sort of comfortable. INTERVIEWER: What---were you in camp during the time of the questionnaire, the loyalty questionnaire came out? ICHIUJI: Yes, yes. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 17 of 29 �INTERVIEWER: Do you remember---can you tell me about that time and what was happening in camp and the different issues surrounding that loyalty questionnaire? ICHIUJI: Yeah, the questionnaire came out and asked whether you would serve in the U.S. Army, and the other was for the---you will not serve for the Emperor of Japan or something like that. I think it was 27 or 28, right? Something like that. There was a lot of questions about that. And I thought that the questionnaire was out of hand. Why would, you know, we were American citizens, why would, you know, why would they have to ask us such, you know, questions. (08:00) But we said---I said "yes-yes" anyway. And---but there were a lot of people that said no, they wouldn't answer that. And there was no question about that when we volunteered, you know. People raised the question about "Why would they ask that sort of question when we’re American citizens?” But many of us volunteered for 4-4-2 when it came for it. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember having a discussion at all with your family or your parents? ICHIUJI: No. I don’t recall talking to my folks about it, no. But when I volunteered I told my mother first, and her reaction was that of a mother hating to see her son going off to war, she was concerned, not so much as, you know, the reason why I’m doing it, but because I’m going to war, and I could understand her feelings. And my father was the same way. I told him a few days later and he agreed with me that this is the right thing to do. I told him first that, you know, only way for us to get out of this camp is to show our---we are loyal Americans, this is our only chance to do that, and he agreed with that, and I was happy to hear that. And so when we were ready to go out of the camp to see, they all came out to say goodbye to us and that was really something. That was really something. And, you know, there was some resentments, I guess; (10:00) the administration for being treated---being in camp. And I guess they were considered no-no, right? And they were supportive of Japan. But I didn’t have any bad reaction from them. I know there were some in our camp, but they didn’t react to what we did. I'm very thankful for that. And in fact they give us a big sendoff; most of the people did. INTERVIEWER: Did your father tell you anything before you left? ICHIUJI: Yes. He told me that, you know, this is your country so you should fight for it. Do your best. That was something. I think---I’m glad that I was given this chance. It really opened the door for me. Yeah, because if I hadn't done that, I wouldn’t have gotten my higher education like I wanted, you know; I won’t be here today. Oh yeah. INTERVIEWER: What happened when you left? Do you remember the day that you left? ICHIUJI: Camp? I was given order to report Fort Lewis, Washington. No, I mean, Fort Douglas, Utah, and I think it was in April of ‘40 or early part of May ’44. Oh, wait a minute, ’43, ’43 I volunteered in January or This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 18 of 29 �February of ’43, and I was---I reported to Fort Douglas, Utah probably April, I think, and got into Camp Shelby in (12:00) May of ’44. INTERVIEWER: How did you get from Utah to Camp Shelby? ICHIUJI: By train. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember that ride out there? ICHIUJI: Yes. A bunch of us---we're volunteers, we're all made up of volunteers, we reported to Fort Douglas, Utah. And from there we were supposed to report to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, but on the way we stopped and saw some of our friends in Chicago. We stopped there for one day or so and then we took a train down to Shelby, Mississippi. INTERVIEWER: What did you guys do in Chicago? ICHIUJI: We just visited our friends. There were a few people that came out and worked and got a job in Chicago so we just visited those. We didn’t do anything. INTERVIEWER: Had that---was that the first time you’d been that far east? ICHIUJI: Yes, yes, uh-huh. Yeah, it’s quite an experience. And I remember we were always on a crowded train with GIs and so forth. I guess they're kind of looking at us, we're Japanese traveling. Yeah. I remember when we stopped in Camp Shelby, oh, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, we had to go to restroom, so there were two restrooms said colored and white and we didn't know which one to go to. So we asked [and were told], "You go to the white one," and that's what we did. That’s the first time we saw real bad discrimination. We weren't that bad on the West Coast, but the blacks were really discriminated against. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What did you think of that, having your family behind barbed wire (14:00) and now you’re riding a train and then you get out at this train stop and you’re confronted with two bathrooms? ICHIUJI: It’s really---I thought that this is a crazy country being, you know. I guess they looked at colored people as second citizens, and black were treated worse than we were, I guess. You know, I guess the reason is there’s a difference between how we were treated and how the coloreds were treated because, I think the Japanese, you know, they came from a civilized country. You know how old Japan is, and whereas the blacks, they came from Africa and they didn’t have any, you know, up-to-date civiliza---civilized life. So, in that respect, we're way ahead of the blacks. And, you know, as Japanese are, you know, they This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 19 of 29 �came to the United States with the idea of making money and go back; and they were stuck in the desert land, they decided to go farming so they made this land to be very productive. So, they made a success of themselves in that respect. Like my father, he came through United States with the idea of making money and going back, you know. But he first worked for a nursery and he didn’t like that. No, at first he went to San Francisco. I think he---(16:00) he went to---from Japan he went to Hawaii and he stayed in Hawaii for two weeks and he didn’t like that so he went to Seattle, Washington and came down to San Francisco, and he got a job as a houseboy, cleaning house for a lady. And I guess my father didn’t do a good job so he was sweeping the dirt underneath the rug, you know, and the lady caught him at it, so she gave him holy hell. So my father got mad at her because he didn’t like the idea of ladies, some lady talking to him that way so he got mad and threw the broom at her and said, “I quit!” and took off. And he got a job working at a nursery, Oakland somewhere, and he didn’t like that so he went---then he went down to Monterey. And I think his sister and brother-in-law was in Monterey, their fishing business---doing---I think they were fishing, anyway. So he joined them and he got a job working in an abalone market; I think you have to take the shell---the abalone out of the shell and clean all that stuff. Well, he didn't like that, so he heard about an opening in Salinas, the truck farming, so he got in a contract with Yuki, what was his first name? Mas Yuki. He's a big businessman now, but---and they raised onions in Salinas. And I guess he made some money, but then the last crop they over-fertilized and they lost the crop, so my father said, “No more farming.” So I think he had some interest (18:00) in shoe repairing and I guess he used to go to a shoe store repair shop that was owned by a Japanese. His name was Hiroshige and my father asked him, you know, “How about teach me how to repair shoes.” And he said “Yes, I’ll teach you.” So then he---after he learned the business, there was an opening in Pacific Grove, so he took that and went over to Pacific Grove and started his own business, and that's how we got settled in Pacific Grove. I think I lost track somewhere, I don't know. INTERVIEWER: No, no, that's okay. When you get to Camp Shelby, what did you think? ICHIUJI: You know, I had been exposed to basic training so I had some experience, so I knew that I’ll be meeting new people and be regimented, and your life is no longer your own. You had to take orders and do what they tell you to do. So, I was pretty much experienced in that respect. But I did find a little difference in meeting people from Hawaii and how they talked, and there’s a lot of difference in how we reacted to certain things, so there was a little difference in feelings in that respect. But I noticed that all the commissioned officers were white, and there were few Japanese Niseis that commissioned officers. And I also noticed that the commissioned officers were---the noncoms were (20:00) all from the mainland. So as I said before that that kind of created a bad friction between the vols from Hawaii and the mainland. And there's also the fact that the Hawaiian volunteers were not subject to racial discrimination as the mainland were. They were not incarcerated in camp and the mainlands were, so there was some difference in that respect. And---so there was some bitter fighting between the mainland and Hawaiian group because of that feeling. And I guess the Hawaiian volunteer didn't realize what we had gone through in America until they were invited to Jerome and Rohwer Relocation Camp for dance, USO dances, so when they got there they found out how we were treated, so I think that had some bearing on---in closing the gap. And as time went on we, you know, we healed and we became good buddies. Yeah. Well, even before going over, you know, we were good buddies, so---there were some little differences, but as a whole, we were good buddies. INTERVIEWER: What did you think of Hawaii guys when you first met 'em? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 20 of 29 �ICHIUJI: Well, they weren't afraid to tell people off, how they felt. We kinda held back. And if they're discriminated, they won't hesitate to beat 'em up. Like if someone called [them] Jap, they'd beat the heck out of 'em, you know. But us, we just kinda held back. And so in that respect they were more bold than we were. (22:00) That's where they got the "go for broke" spirit. I think we acquired some of that, which is good for us. Yeah. And they were---and, you know, they had a lot of money. We didn’t have any money, they had money, so they were spending like my [indiscernible] and we couldn't keep up with them. But as I say, we picked up their pidgin language more than they're picking up on our mainland language. But my buddies were from my Hawaii, yeah. So whenever we have a reunion we have a good get together. INTERVIEWER: What did you guys do while you were not training? What were some of the things you and your buddies did? ICHIUJI: I didn’t go out too much. I didn't---I think that there was one---I forgot his name, he’s a Caucasian that took a liking to Hawaiian volunteers and they really took him in and treated him well. I forgot his name. God, I can't think of his name [Earl Finch]. And they were treated---he was---they were treated very well, Hawaiian groups. INTERVIEWER: What did you think of Louisiana? ICHIUJI: Well, we---it was very cold. It was really cold. But as we participated in maneuvers in that area, the people in Louisiana (24:00) are kind of friendly, the country people. You know why? We bought---they--we liked their fried chicken so we used to buy fried chicken and we'd pay 'em for the money and all that. And they have to be pretty nice people, provided us with side meals, you know, and we got to be friendly with them. And there was no---since we're out in the, you know, rural areas, we didn't have to see the people in the city and stuff like that. So, I don't know what the feeling would be. But the people that we contacted are, you know, came across, they were friendly. They were surprised to see Japanese Americans there, too. INTERVIEWER: Did you get a chance to go to New Orleans? ICHIUJI: Yes, uh-huh, yes. And we found out that we couldn't match the fellows from Hawaii because they had a lot of money to spend. We didn't, though; we had just overnight. So we just spent---I don’t recall too much about New Orleans but, you know, Charles Street and all that, I don’t remember that. But I went back New Orleans several years ago and had exposure to all that, but I don't recall seeing New Orleans that way. No. I wasn't too interested about New Orleans, [indiscernible] the last time I saw. INTERVIEWER: What do you---was there anything that you learned from your exposure to the Hawaii guys? (26:00) This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 21 of 29 �ICHIUJI: Well, I learned that, you know, that the Hawaiian-Japanese families were exposed to discrimination. They told about the Big Five, they all talked, and they were mistreated by the Big Five, they were exploited. So they had no use for white people, so they call them kotonks, you know. So they're trying to relate us---because we speak like the mainlander, they kinda characterize us kotonks. That's how it was. INTERVIEWER: What’s your most vivid memory of Camp Shelby? ICHIUJI: Well, I remember Camp Shelby as a very humid area, had a lot of chiggers, we used to hear a lot of Hawaiian music and also Frank Sinatra and Mills Brothers. But one thing that slipped my mind is that, my first exposure to Hawaiian volunteers, and they're a lot different in how they reacted and how they, I guess, how they associate with one another, a little different. My hutment was made up of mostly from mainland; there was no Hawaiian in that group. So our section was mostly mainland, except for one, he was a gunner, he was from Hawaii, he was from Kauai, and he got to be my buddy. He was a gunner at the beginning. (28:00) And then when we were in Menton, France, he got busted, so I took over his job, but still we’re friends, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What did he get busted for? ICHIUJI: I forgot what it was. Maybe because AWOL or something like that. You know, Menton is Riviera, part of Riviera, so maybe he didn’t come back in time as he should. But he was a good gunner, he was a good man. BEGINNING OF TAPE FOUR INTERVIEWER: Okay, after you finish your basic training in Camp Shelby, do you remember when you guys got your orders? ICHIUJI: Yeah, I think it was in about May of 1944 we got order to go overseas, and we headed for Newport News, Virginia and we boarded a Liberty ship and we headed east across the Atlantic for 28 days. And we were in a big convoy, I remember, a huge convoy. And I remember we landed in three different ports in Italy and then we assembled in Bagnoli, north of Naples. And then the 100th Infantry Battalion, they joined the 442nd Combat Team as the 1st Battalion. You know, they were already in Italy, and once we got---the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed, we’re headed north and we entered the front lines with the 34th Division north of Rome, I forgot the name of the place, Suvereto or something like that. And we started fighting for about three months going up north, and we were in this Rome-Arno Campaign, and that took three months. So (02:00) we helped liberate the town of Leghorn, Livorno, near Pisa, and we also pushed the German army north of Arno River. And after fighting three months we were pulled back for replacements. I know we had some big battles along the way, like, fighting at Cecina. I remember we had separate gun emplacements and we had orders to fire 20 rounds apiece. So, all the 12 guns fired 20 rounds apiece because they were shelling the Germans in the hill, I This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 22 of 29 �think it was 140. So, you know, we got orders of that type. Sometimes we, you know, 10 rounds, fire 10 rounds, or if we got orders to fire 20 rounds, that’s a very unusual call. And as the battle went on, the casing, you know, the shell casings, we stacked 'em up like that. And that was something. INTERVIEWER: On your journey overseas, do you remember what ship you were on? ICHIUJI: Yeah, it was called Sheepshead Bay. And when---that Liberty ship was sunk in Marseilles, harbor of Marseilles, when we pulled back and we're headed to France. So I saw that ship. It sunk halfway and you could see the side close. INTERVIEWER: What was that like, traveling on a ship? Was that your first time on a ship? ICHIUJI: Yes. A first experience where I got seasick. (04:00) But after that, I got over it. And it's a matter of going to bed and, you know, just later on not doing anything. Of course we were given language we're supposed to learn, Italian language, we're doing that. And we eat meal, we ate three meals, and we had guard duty too, I’m sorry, we had guard duty too, to make sure that, you know, no lights were showing through and all that. Blackout. INTERVIEWER: What did you do to pass the time? ICHIUJI: Oh, we used to play games and cards, and we used to talk with our buddies. I think mostly playing card games, you know, pinochle or something. We didn't play---we didn’t gamble, we played pinochle. INTERVIEWER: How long did it take to get overseas? ICHIUJI: Twenty-eight days. And toward the end the food was getting pretty stale. It was terrible. I remember as we approached Africa, we went through the Strait of Gibraltar, and then we stopped in Sicily, then we broke into three groups, and we landed in three different ports in Italy. We landed in Bari, Italy, that’s the east side of Italy, and we boarded a freight car, went all the way across Italy and joined the rest of the 4-4-2 near Naples. I remember that Naples harbor's all bombed and damaged. First sight of war. INTERVIEWER: How did you feel seeing that? ICHIUJI: Yeah, well, I saw the effects of the war is kind of a strange feeling, but you’re really into it now, (06:00) you know, you're getting close to it, yeah. Yeah, so, and then we took a trip into Naples and we got exposure to young kids begging for food; they were hungry, you know. And then you noticed that the boys were pimping for their sisters and stuff like that. Terrible. They had---they were really suffering from hunger and food, so they were doing all extreme means of getting food, yeah. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 23 of 29 �INTERVIEWER: When you see that at that age of 21, what does that do to your perspective on just your---on living? ICHIUJI: Well, when you going into a place like Naples, you try to compare the people there with how we live in the United States. Even though we were persecuted, you know, as---treated us, I mean, alien put in camp, you still can make comparison of how people living in United States with how they were living in Naples, and there's no comparison. I think when you want to see poverty, that’s what you see. They really---maybe because of war that they didn’t have enough food to go around. But it was a pitiful sight, especially when you see brothers pimping for their sisters and stuff like that. It’s terrible. (08:00) So we gave 'em candy bars and stuff like that to help 'em out. INTERVIEWER: What happens next when you finally assemble with the 442nd and the 100th? ICHIUJI: Then we board the LST and went to Anzio. But Anzio's already taken, and I think the 100th Battalion was involved in that. But we landed there and that place was devastated; they were just bombed. Hardly any roof standing, it was all bombed. And I remember we got off the LST and marched off on---in the city rubble and stuff like that and went to the hill. And we had to dig foxholes because the Germans still had air force, you know. Not a strong air force, but they---so they were . . . So we were prepared for a bombing. So I remember we were on the slope of a hill and I saw a slight dip in the ground so I started digging. There was a dead German in there, [laughs] so I moved out of there. But then that night, or the following day, we got orders to get on the trucks, and so we started headed to Rome, we got---we went on a convoy going north to Rome. And I remember we were traveling at nighttime, moving at nighttime, and we looked back, and German planes, bombers, came and bombed Anzio. We were lucky to get out of there in time. And then I remember going through Rome (10:00) in the evening. And I remember seeing the Colosseum, the old Colosseum, and the Tigris [Tiber] River, we crossed that, and I think we stopped by the Colosseum and then we headed north, went to Civitavecchia, and then we went through some maneuvers to make sure that we’re ready for combat; we were shooting practice rounds and stuff like that. And after that, we were assigned to 34th Division and entered [indiscernible] just north of Rome. INTERVIEWER: Did you know who the thirty, oh, sorry. [Break in interview.] ICHIUJI: [Interview resumes.] . . . each of the mines. INTERVIEWER: Okay, so let’s start---you land, you hook up with the 4-4-2 and then you start your travels northward, north into Italy, correct? ICHIUJI: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 24 of 29 �What is your first battle? ICHIUJI: My first battle was this Suvereto, I think it’s the name of the place. And remember I mentioned that my first baptism of fire was hilarious because we had dug in gun emplacements and we just start digging our foxhole, and then all of a sudden the German planes came over us and we jumped in our foxholes. And the ack-ack crew that was assigned to us laughed at us because, you know, the German planes couldn’t do anything to us, they were [indiscernible] to, you know, avoid being shot down. But one thing I’d like to say is that we were lucky in that the (12:00) German air force had lost their power, we had dominance over their air power, so we were lucky in that respect. But I remember, I forgot where it was, but we had to move out of the position in the middle of the night, it was dark, but there was a full moon, and we had hooked up our---we put---I mean we hooked up our howitzer to the prime mover and we were ready to move out, but we had to sit still because the German planes were flying around looking for targets. So we---so, once they started moving out of the area, this German plane, they found a target and they hit a convoy on the road and they dropped their anti-personnel bombs. An antipersonnel bomb is that once it hits the ground, it bursts in many different---I guess it had different explosions and killed people, personnel. And I remember, after that, we started moving gun in position. And we were right by the roadside and we got into position and there was a big ditch behind us so we heard anti, I mean, German planes dropping bombs, so we dived into this ditch, you know, so that . . . And of course we weren't hit at all, we were lucky, but some other outfits were hit by the Germans. Because, you know, they were able to see, I guess, moonlight. INTERVIEWER: That first experience of having the enemy (14:00) shooting at you, what goes through your mind? ICHIUJI: Well, like I said, I was in artillery, so I didn’t confront the enemy at all. We just got orders to fire and we just fire and hope that, you know, it killed the enemy, that’s about all. We had no---we can't see our enemy at all. Only time you see an enemy is when that big fighter comes. Of course I did see some dead Germans, you know, that the Germans weren't able to be moved before they moved out. INTERVIEWER: What was that like, seeing a dead body? ICHIUJI: Oh, it was terrible because it was bad smell. Terrible. And they didn't---they covered it mostly with dirt, you know, so that---but it wasn’t buried in the ground, it was on top of the ground, and it was covered with dirt, but the smell is terrible. I could never forget that. INTERVIEWER: So Sivecchia [Suvereto], what is that battle like for your team? ICHIUJI: Oh, you mean . . . INTERVIEWER: That first battle, what was it like for your team? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 25 of 29 �ICHIUJI: Well, the fact that you're firing your howitzer for the first time in actual action is something, you know. You get orders to fire, and so your reaction is to, you know, you kind of got nervous a little bit because it’s your first reaction to action, and you're actually firing at the enemies, you know, so that was kind of a funny feeling. And then you hear the results of what you’ve done. If you kind of---(16:00) you feel that you had contributed some to push the Germans back. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: How do you know where the shells are landing when . . . ICHIUJI: You don't know. You hear a report that, you know, that the shell was good by the officers coming back from forward observing and all that. See, because, when you hear about forward observing, there’s a team within---each battery has a forward observing team, so they go up and they go with the infantry, and the infantry asks for, "How about getting this target out of the way," so then they call it in and we fire, either tank, three tanks or it'd be a machine gun, you know, position or whatever. Or it could be a mass congregation of German armies, soldiers. INTERVIEWER: When you were going through that, what---take me through the whole procedure of you going into battle---you go into a battle and then you have to set up your gun and---how does that all happen? The procedure that happens. ICHIUJI: It’s like you go through what you did---you learned in training. Like maneuvers, they’re the same thing. What you do is, the captain will find a site, I guess they work with the headquarters what the position should be to support the infantry, so they find a good site, usually behind a hill, and open field, and so the captain says, “Section A, go here, B and C.” So (18:00) there are four sections, and so then they tells us where to go, so then the prime mover driver back the howitzer up and put it in place, okay? Then we get off and unload all our beddings and ammunitions and unhook the howitzer from the prime mover, and then we---all of us hoist the gun for that position and we start digging emplacements. And filling sack with dirt so---and I put it on as a protection. After you get that done and the gun's are already set for firing, then you dig your own foxhole. You either share a foxhole with another person or dig your own, because you have a---you're equipped with a bedroll and you also have a half a tent, so if you want to pup a tent you have to share it with another person so that, you know. So what we do, you share a tent and you put this over your foxhole. And sometimes you---they put it, I mean, you fill a sack with dirt and put it on top, too, as a protection. So once you get your gun emplacement, and then you have your ammunition all [indiscernible] up ready to go, and then if the mission comes in, then you get the first call is the elevation, number one, set the elevation, and then they says to the gunner [to] move right so many mils, and he moves it, then he says charge [is] so much, so the person who's in charge would deduct or add, (20:00) you know, charges or, I mean, you deduct charges or use all of it. And then there's a timing device that you set the timing on the fuse---on the projector [projectile], because you want to time it so that when the projector lands near the ground, it explodes before it hits the ground. So they use a timing device for that. And so each man is assigned a duty what to do. So . . . INTERVIEWER: And how many men---is it just one . . . This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 26 of 29 �ICHIUJI: No, one, two . . . INTERVIEWER: . . . group of ten men for one gun? ICHIUJI: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you work in shifts or . . .? ICHIUJI: No, no. But each one is assigned a duty and you stick with that. And then you have a chief of section, he's a sergeant, he's in charge. So he's the one that direct you what to do. Number one is responsible for elevation and pull the lanyard. Gunner is in charge of moving the gun left to right. And then you have number two man, he's in charge of loading and stuff like that. INTERVIEWER: Then once you shoot the gun, then what happens? ICHIUJI: Then once you shoot the gun, the gun recoils back, okay, and I eject the shell. The number two man is ready to put in the shell, and before it goes into position it's ready to fire again. So the gun recoils, right? And once it---after it fires, then it starts going back again. But we eject the shell, (22:00) and the number two man's ready to throw the next shell. INTERVIEWER: What do you do with that empty shell? ICHIUJI: We stack it up on the side and camouflage it so they won't, you know, find it. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember the battle of Sivetzio [Suvereto] and the taking of Belvedere? ICHIUJI: What was it? INTERVIEWER: Do you remember the battle of Servettio [Suvereto] and the taking of Belvedere? ICHIUJI: I know we entered the battle, but I don't recall too much about it. I know we fought [indiscernible] one is Cecina and so Florence and . . . INTERVIEWER: What about the battle of 140, Hill 140? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 27 of 29 �ICHIUJI: That was north of Cecina, I believe. That's where we fired those 20 rounds and so forth. That was taken---that was held by the Germans, you know. Belvedere also was top of the mountain. You know, whenever you fought in Italy, because the Germans were retreating, they always had the high ground looking down upon us. That was a disadvantage to us. But we push, push, push, and pulled back. And I guess Hill 140 was one of the crucial hills that had to be taken. INTERVIEWER: What was the weather like at that time? ICHIUJI: It was very hot. Very hot. And we weren't---we didn't have fatigues, you know, we had a summer, I mean, olive drabs on, and I guess (24:00) they converted that to fatigues. INTERVIEWER: What was the next---what's the next battle you remember? ICHIUJI: After Belvedere I think we took a break. We were pulled off the line and we took over the resort, Mussolini's resort. But in order to---we took upon ourselves to clear the beach of mines. They were for--they were expecting invasion, Allied invasion there, so they have mines there. So you know what we did? We looked for mines and we looked for booby traps, so we put our finger underneath there. If you didn't see anything, just lift it up. I wouldn't do that again, I'll tell you that [laughs]. It was mean. I don't know why we risked doing that. But we just did it for our own, you know. It should have been cleared by the engineers, but we did it ourselves. And some people used that detonators for killing fish, but I wouldn't do that. But I remember we used to dug around---we find a mine---we used to dug around and make sure there's no booby trap, and push it up. Suppose it was tied underneath there on the bottom, oh God, it would've exploded. INTERVIEWER: Did anyone in your group run into that accident? ICHIUJI: No, no, no. No. But I heard the infantrymen did, yeah, bomb. INTERVIEWER: After (26:00) you had that break and you cleared those mines off that beach, what was the next thing you remember? ICHIUJI: We were heading toward Florence, I believe. We pushed the Germans back of the---on the other side of Arno River. And we also fought---we fought thereabout, liberating Leghorn, Livorno, near Pisa. The 4-42 had a lot to do with liberating Leghorn. And then I remember we moved into---as we pushed the Germans north of Arno River, we got into position in Florence, near Florence. And I remember I told that we got behind a hill and we were in position for some time there. And I remember some Brazilian troops were assigned to us. I guess they're gonna take over or something. They would take over that area for us. And I think there were some Niseis. Not Nisei, but Brazilian Japanese in that group. And This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 28 of 29 �were teaching them---I guess they were gonna learn from us what they had to do and everything, so we teach them. And I remember, as I told you, that one evening we were shelled by the Germans, and we had guns here, here, and here. Mine was here. And there was a section on the right-hand side, they were shelled, and I don't see how they could have seen us because we were behind the hill. So I suspect that there was a German spy or whatever, observer, on top of the hill giving direction. (28:00) No one was hurt, though, from the shell. And then from there, we were ordered to pull back. And I remember I had my roll against a rock wall and I pull out my roll and there was a scorpion right underneath where I was---had my hand. Gee, it was something. Anyway, we were ordered to go back---we're ordered to pull back and then we went to Naples, and we're waiting for replacement there. And we had---we were assigned to Seventh Army for combat duty in France. And then when replacement came---in case---my cousin came at that time, he was assigned to Company E, 4-4-2. So we boarded a LST from Naples and we head for Marseilles. And when we got into the harbor at Marseilles, I saw this Liberty ship sank in the harbor . . . This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 29 of 29 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview transcript [full interview], June 26, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Type The nature or genre of the resource Transcriptions Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Extent The size or duration of the resource. 29 pages, typescript Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-06-26 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Arlington, Virginia Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_T_Ichiuji https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/e87317d125bb333efdb4298e98737755.xml ba474f8f32666a298b06c98ef4d003f3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-7.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 7 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_07_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji looks through pictures, describing the subjects of each and the background of them as well. Subject The topic of the resource Arts and literature Military service--Veteran history Identity and values Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:20:49 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Block cadre Camp Roberts Camp Shelby detachment equipment family friends Germany Howitzer induction Menton military occupation Monterey Nice picture bride pictures Poston Concentration Camp https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/24c589dfc740cb627001ae67693993e6.xml 1ff241e6ed930a8beea94988a72c8396 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-6.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 6 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_06_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji continues to talk about the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp and the inhumanity of it. Next, he talks about the end of the war and his trip back to the United States, celebrating when he saw the Statue of Liberty. He would be discharged from the Army at Fort Douglas where he would see his brother once again and begin his education using the GI Bill. He talks briefly about his family background, including his marriage and children. After this, he talks about the legacy of the Nisei soldiers, sacrificing their lives for what we have today. He also notes that future generations should know what happened, the terribleness of war and that Japanese Americans should be proud of who they are. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--European Theater--Central Europe Campaign--Liberation of Dachau Subcamps (522nd Field Artillery Battalion) World War II--Military service--522nd Field Artillery Battalion Identity and values Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:27:45 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 Austria brother civil rights Dachau Concentration Camp deputy division chief discharge Fort Douglas Fort Lewis Frank Sinatra German soldiers GI Bill history inhumane Japanese Americans Jewish legacy legislation liberation No-no boys points system resistance sacrifice Statue of Liberty true Americans veterans war hysteria Washington DC https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/1d24c9f9c5f8ad4d7d9612c4d38f7892.xml 91e3afd093d842eccf2785fea12a35df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-5.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 5 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_05_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji talks more about his combat experiences, going back to Naples to wait for replacements, before being sent back to France, liberating the town of Bruyeres and the rescue of the Lost Battalion. The 522nd would continue on through the French Riviera, dealing with shelling throughout their time. Ichiuji would continue on, volunteering to be a forward observer, and breaking the Siegfried Line. After this, they would move up through Austria, liberating the Dachau sub camps. He discusses seeing the starved Jewish prisoners, and talks about the parallels between the Jewish and the Japanese American citizens with their governments. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--Military service--522nd Field Artillery Battalion World War II--European Theater--Central Europe Campaign--Liberation of Dachau Subcamps (522nd Field Artillery Battalion) World War II--European Theater Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:27:42 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team 36th Division 522nd Field Artillery Battalion artillery Bruyeres combat Dachau Concentration Camp death camps family forest forward observer France French Riviera front lines General Dahlquist Gothic Line Jewish Lost Battalion Marseille mass incarceration mortars Naples Racial prejudice replacements screaming mimi shelling Siegfried Line Sospel https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/380702fcdb2bf5e1dd06034085de41a8.xml a750cab107c3a6d91f092ad829850377 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-4.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 4 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_04_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji talks about being shipped overseas, first going to Newport News before going on a 28 day convoy to Italy. When arriving in Italy, he would immediately notice the destruction of Naples, and would then move up to Bagnoli, where they would be joined by the 100th Infantry. They would continue moving through Italy, joining up with the 34th Division. Next, he talks more about the combat experiences that he had, being part of the artillery team, and the process of what the team did. After this, he talks about the Hill 140 campaign and liberating Leghorn, followed by a break as they waited for replacements. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--European Theater World War II--Military service--522nd Field Artillery Battalion World War II--Veteran history Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:29:11 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 100th Infantry Battalion 34th Division 442nd Regimental Combat Team Anzio artillery Bagnoli Civitavecchia combat convoy devastation Florence forward observer foxholes front lines German soldiers Hill 140 Howitzer Italy Livorno-Leghorn Marseille mines Naples Newport News poverty procedure process Rome Rome-Arno shelling Sicily Strait of Gibraltar weather https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/db989ebd304d1c53ec4ce0d5d86b90b0.xml a3696aa8f76df9d1b5688042901e3a23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-3.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 3 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_03_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji continues to talk about being in Poston concentration camp with his family, the living conditions being poor but they were able to set up a shoe repair shop. He would then volunteer to join the 442nd and talks about the loyalty questions they were forced to answer in the camps. He would get inducted at Fort Douglas before heading to Camp Shelby. He talks about his first exposure to segregation in the south, not knowing if they should use the white or colored bathrooms. Next, he talks about the relationships between the Hawaiian and mainland soldiers. He also talks about doing maneuvers in Louisiana and how the locals in those areas were very friendly, making them fried chicken. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--American Concentration Camps--Poston (Colorado River) World War II--Military service--522nd Field Artillery Battalion World War II--Military service--Recruiting and enlisting Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:28:43 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 Camp Shelby chiggers cold weather colored section discrimination family Fort Douglas fried chicken Hattiesburg Hawaiian soldiers humidity living conditions loyalty Loyalty Questionnaire Mainland soldiers Mississippi New Orleans No-no boys non-commissioned officers Pidgin English Poston Concentration Camp shoe repair train volunteering https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/26a5217a4b9de461fbe6fc2fa54693c9.xml 8b9631d13cd7f9a6736188cd60dd1c4c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-2.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 2 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_02_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Ichiuji would be drafted into the Army, getting inducted in San Francisco and taking his basic training at Camp Roberts. There, he would learn to shoot the Howitzer gun and join in on maneuvers. However, once the attacks on Pearl Harbor occurred, he was discharged from the Army and would return to his family that was being evacuated from their home. They would end up in Poston concentration camp, Ichiuji talks about his and his parent's reaction to being forcefully removed. Next, he talks about the living conditions of the camp, being in a desert with barbed wire all around. In order to escape the camps, he would end up volunteering for the Army after hearing that the 442nd was being formed. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--American Concentration Camps--Poston (Colorado River) World War II--Military service--Basic training World War II--Military service--522nd Field Artillery Battalion Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:27:58 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 442nd Regimental Combat Team barbed wire Barracks basic training Block Camp Roberts desert discharge Drafted enemy aliens evacuation family forced removal Howitzer induction Issei parents Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) maneuvers Poston Concentration Camp Presidio Monterey Shikata ga nai spiders unit volunteer https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/4cb89f0a5c3ad99b4b480c0a06953395.xml 2883a0b27117ff60e23465159eb744c2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, June 28, 1999 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/071-Ichiuji-Joseph-1.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1919 Feb 14 Location of Birth Salinas, California Incarceration Facilities Poston Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Volunteered Location of Basic Training Camp Roberts, California Camp Shelby, Mississippi Unit of Service 522nd Field Artillery Battalion Campaigns/Battles Champagne Campaign Bruyeres, Belmont, Biffontaine Rescue of the Lost Battalion Central Europe Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Liberation of Dachau Subcamps Index indicates an oral history item with an XML file indexed in OHMS. Yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joseph Ichiuji oral history interview, part 1 of 7, June 28, 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ichiuji, Joseph: narrator Kawata, Ian: interviewer Go For Broke National Education Center: publisher US Army Center of Military History: sponsor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Go For Broke National Education Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1999OH0071_01_Ichiuji Description An account of the resource Joseph Ichiuji begins the interview talking about growing up in Pacific Grove, California, fishing and playing football with his siblings. He talks about facing discrimination in the job market and attending Japanese language school while also attending regular schooling. Next, he talks about his recreational activities, such as going to dances and camping. After high school, he would work with his mother at the fish cannery. He would be drafted into the Army and begin his basic training at Camp Roberts. While there, the attacks on Pearl Harbor would occur while he was on furlough. He would then be taken from the artillery unit he was in and moved to Fort Lewis in Washington, where he would get his discharge papers. Subject The topic of the resource Identity and values Social activities World War II--Pearl Harbor and aftermath Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral Histories Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:30:37 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 June 28 animosity basketball California Camp Roberts dances Dinuba discharge discipline discrimination evacuation family fish cannery fishing football Fort Lewis furlough high school Japanese Americans Japanese language school Kanji maneuvers Monterey Pacific Grove Pearl Harbor presbyterian radio reading stamp collection values Washington