1 100 6 https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/497d1b1fc1358d6ae1518440604a46c3.pdf 22117f80f6531b48a503d340dc8fa6c1 PDF Text Text Go For Broke National Education Center Oral History Project Oral History Interview with Masao Sakagami, September 12, 1998, Seattle, Washington INTERVIEWER: Okay, today is September 12th . . . SAKAGAMI: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: . . . and it's 10 a.m., and we're speaking to Masao . . . SAKAGAMI: Sakagami, yeah. INTERVIEWER: . . . Sakagami, and I am Ian doing the interview, Craig Yahata is doing camera and Christine Sato is doing audio. So we are going to start the interview. Mas, can you give me your full name and where you were born? SAKAGAMI: Masao Sakagami. They call me Mas or Masa, but, doggone it, it's Masao [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: And where were you born? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I was born in Auburn and I was next to the last one, you know. My sister is younger than me but she had epilepsy and she kicked the bucket before the war. And I was---Jesus God, I can't think no more [laughter]. Jesus, it's gettin' bad, but, doggone it, I’m still kicking, yeah. My mother and father were dead before I even graduated high school, yeah. INTERVIEWER: How many people were in your family? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 1 of 44 �Well, there was, counting my folks, well, there was eight of 'em, but, doggone it, I'm the only one living in my family now so, Jesus God, it's good, it’s good, I’m leaving a legacy, yeah. [02:00] INTERVIEWER: Growing up in Auburn, what was your childhood like? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] Your childhood, what was your childhood like? SAKAGAMI: Oh, my childhood was no good [laughs]. I was living across from Pioneer Cemetery, you know, Japanese cemetery. And son of a gun, I used to knock over tombstones [laughs], you know, Jesus God, but then I won’t do that no more, yeah. I grew up in Auburn and, doggone it, I'm class of ’39 and there’s quite a few of 'em are dead in my class already, yeah. But, what the heck, I’m still kicking, so [laughs], yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember your elementary school days? SAKAGAMI: Well, I got in love with some haole girl. But, doggone it, I don’t even know where she is now, but, doggone it, I was in love with her [laughs]. But, what the heck, yeah, I’m still kicking yet. I don’t talk to my wife, but, doggone it, I still love her yet. INTERVIEWER: What was high school like for you? SAKAGAMI: Oh, my high school life was real good. It was real good, but, doggone it, right now I’m really getting to everybody, you know, [04:00] but, doggone it, I wasn’t like this before the war, yeah, I wasn't like this before the war. INTERVIEWER: What is your most fond memory of high school? SAKAGAMI: Oh, high school was . . . Oh, I went to---I wanted to dance but I didn’t know how to dance, so I learned from Frances Itabashi, you know, and, doggone it, she's still living yet in Ontario, Oregon. but, doggone it, it was good old days, you know, good old days, yeah [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 2 of 44 �What type of music did you listen to? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] What type of music did you listen to? SAKAGAMI: Well, I listened to radio at that time, you know, but, doggone it, Sammy Kaye was real good. To me he was real good. What the heck, you know, I’m still living yet and, doggone it, I'm still be able to talk like this. INTERVIEWER: What did your parents do? SAKAGAMI: Oh, my parents farm, you know, they had five acres and we increased it to---when they were dead, we increased it to two more acres, you know. And son of a gun, we made a living on that, yeah, Jesus God, so I'm tight because I'm used to that time, you know, yeah, Jesus God, it was cheap, yeah, at that time. You know, they were only working for a dollar a day [06:00], a dollar a day, yeah, 10 cents an hour. And they work for 12 hours and, son of gun, made a dollar. By golly, I remember. And I used to eat the lunch that my father brought home because he used to---for me it was jam sandwich but, doggone it, I ate it, I loved it, [laughs] yeah. INTERVIEWER: What kind of farming did your parents do? SAKAGAMI: Oh, theirs [was] a small farm, you know. Only berry, berry farming was mostly strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and boysenberry. And, doggone it, they made a living on that, yeah, Jesus, it was hard times, though, yeah. but, doggone it, it was cheap at that time, you know. A loaf of bread was, maybe, 10 cents or 15 cents or something and, doggone it, they made a living on that, yeah. So I’m real tight with my money [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: What was the community like that you grew up in? Was it majority Japanese American? SAKAGAMI: Well, there was quite a few Japanese in there. On the reunion, they come to this reunion because there were Japanese, basically. But, doggone it, there was quite a few Japanese at that time, yeah. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 3 of 44 �What was the majority of your friends? SAKAGAMI: Oh, my friend was haole guys, you know [08:00], but, doggone it, they were working for 10 cents an hour or two bits an hour at the most, you know, but, doggone it, they worked, they worked, yeah. My--I went to Yakima before the war and, Jesus God, they were haole guys, you know, and we jumped on a doggone freight train and then went over to---and at Yakima and, son of a gun, we were gonna steal some watermelon. Jesus God, it was only one cents or two cents a pound but, doggone it, we wanted to steal [laughs]. So, doggone it, we went over there and we didn’t see a watermelon on the road [laughs], yeah, Jesus. So we took a freight train---I mean a passenger train and then came back. Boy oh boy. We left a knapsack on the water, you know, at that time there was a no-no for---where you can’t even get on the damn freight train or passenger train now but, doggone it, at that time there was a lot of hobos, you know, and we were all hobos [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: What were some other activities that you did for fun? SAKAGAMI: For fun? INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm. SAKAGAMI: Well, I did---my brother made me popular. Yeah, he was good in judo [10:00] and in basketball and baseball. So he made me popular and, doggone it, I owe to him that I’m like this myself but, doggone it, he was a real popular man, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Did you have a girlfriend in high school? SAKAGAMI: No, I didn’t have no girlfriend. I wish I did, but I didn’t [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: Before the war started, did you feel any type of discrimination ever? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 4 of 44 �Well, I don’t remember that much but, doggone it, there was discrimination because we couldn’t own the land, you know, Japanese couldn’t own the land. And there was discrimination because that’s why they put us in camp. INTERVIEWER: Did you find your parents having a hard time with that? SAKAGAMI: Well, my parents were dead, yeah, they were dead before I graduated high school. Yeah, my mother died in ‘34 or ‘35, and my father died in ‘38, and, doggone it, I without family, my folk’s family, for over 6 years now, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Who took care of the family after your parents passed away? SAKAGAMI: Well, my brother did, but he was, you know, young yet, so, doggone it, he had his life to lead too, so, [12:00] doggone it, he married some girl, that Saito, Jean Saito. And, doggone it, it was a very good---it was good, but he was an alcoholic. Yeah, he loved to drink. And, Jesus God, every time in the wintertime when we go steelhead fishing, Jesus God, it was good at that time, you know, about right after the war and, son of a gun, some beer bottle come floating down, it was my brother upstair--upstream. Yeah, but, what the heck, yeah, he's dead now, you know, he went the good way, he went to sleep and never woke up, yeah. But if I die like that, well, I'll drink too, but, doggone it, I'm not died like that [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: Take me back to when you first heard about Japan and the tensions that were mounting. Do you remember that? SAKAGAMI: Well, I remember that. They were, you know, Japanese weren’t dumb, you know. So, doggone it, everything that went on, well, doggone it, everything you heard about it, you know, and, doggone it, they were leader, you know, Japanese people were leader. They knew the war was coming on, but I didn’t know. But they knew, yeah. But, no, I can say it’s a thing of the past now. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember where you were the day that you heard about the bombing and the attack on Pearl Harbor? [14:00] This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 5 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Yeah, I was working out in the field, yeah, a strawberry field, at that time. Jesus God, we were making little bit of kashoku or something, you know, they call it kashoku but, doggone it, it's just getting ready for a crop, you know, yeah. It was good old days. INTERVIEWER: What did you feel when you heard that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor? SAKAGAMI: Well, I don’t recall that much but, doggone it, I didn’t want, you know, Japan to get in the war with America, because it was a shock, you know, it was shock but, doggone it, it happened, and son of a gun, they only could take so much, you know, America's the boss, everybody around, but they slap back. And those son of a guns, Japan did it, and it was a good thing that it happened, because [of] the war, we're all this way because of the war, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Were you still going to school after the attack of Pearl Harbor? SAKAGAMI: No, I wasn't going to school because I graduated. In ‘39 I graduated. And then ‘41 the war started so, yeah. So, what the heck, [16:00] it happened and it's a good thing that Bremerton---the Missouri was stationed in Missou---I mean Bremerton and, son of a gun, they took it over to Hawaii because they made more money on it, yeah. Well, they had visitor over in Bremerton but, doggone it, Hawaii is a better place, yet, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Did you receive any discrimination after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? SAKAGAMI: Oh yes. I was slugged right in the face in Ogden, Utah. Yeah, after I went into camp and then, Jesus God, I was gonna go into the Army so, Jesus God, I said I was happy, you know, that I was gonna go into the Army, because I have to do what I had to do, you know, and, son of gun, I got slugged in street in Ogden, Utah. INTERVIEWER: What did they slug you for? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 6 of 44 �He didn’t like Japan; I think he didn’t like Japan, but, what the heck, that’s a normal feeling, yeah, normal feeling, yeah. INTERVIEWER: But did he attack you unprovoked? SAKAGAMI: Well, he slugged me that’s all, that’s all. He didn’t like Jap, so he slugged me. But, well, I didn’t make any---I could have made, you know, little commotion about that guy. He slugged me, what the heck, I let it go at that. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Then do you [18:00] remember when the president signed Executive Order 9066? SAKAGAMI: No, I don’t have nothing to do with the higher-up, you know, yeah. Jesus god, but that was natural at that time, you know. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember when they started posting the signs telling everyone that they would have to evacuate? SAKAGAMI: Oh yeah. We were waiting for that, yeah, we were waiting for it because Bainbridge Island was evacuated first, then Seattle, and then us guys, you know. And, son of a gun, we knew what was going on, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What happened when all the posters went up around your neighborhood? SAKAGAMI: Well, we were waiting for that so, doggone it, we knew we had to go so, doggone it, we were set on that, but, doggone it, the people that were living at that time, you know, Isseis were living at that time, well, my folks were gone but, doggone it, other people that had to evacuate, well, by golly, they didn’t know what's coming off over there. Yeah, I helped a couple of people because they got taken in, you know, and, doggone it, I helped coup[le], I mean, one people, one family, that Mayekawas, that they had to---he was taken in, so he was pretty active in Japanese [20:00] community so he was taken in, yeah. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 7 of 44 �INTERVIEWER: What---how did it affect your family having to evacuate? SAKAGAMI: Well, it didn’t effect, in fact I enjoyed it. But, what the heck, you know, you got to ride in---that's the first time that the people, Japanese people, rode on a plane, I mean, train, you know. Yeah. Jesus God, at that time we were---so even the train was luxury but, doggone it, now it’s a---you can ride a plane and then you can go anyplace, you know. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the---where was your assembly center? SAKAGAMI: Our assembly center was Pinedale, California, yeah. So, what the heck, it was hot and then I saw my garter snake and it was a gopher snake. And son of gun it was big. The one in Auburn at that time, well, doggone it, they were small, yeah. But I see the big snake for the first time. INTERVIEWER: Was that the first time you were out of Washington? SAKAGAMI: No, that was the first time that I went to California and, doggone it, I never went to---I went to Portland before the war once, once before the war, but, doggone it, that was about it, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the train ride like down to Pinedale? SAKAGAMI: Well, we---some Isseis were still [22:00] living at that time and so, doggone it, we got a dining car, you know, and, son of a gun, we tipped him, we tipped the porter because they treated us nice, you know, But, doggone it, they were all black people, you know, yeah. What the heck, that was long time ago but, doggone it, I remember Klamath Falls, Klamath Lake, you know. Jesus God, there was a turtle that I never saw before the war. There was lots of 'em. Maybe there was one or two incidents that, before the war, that there was a turtle in state of Washington, but you didn’t see that many, yeah. INTERVIEWER: When you reached Pinedale, what was it like? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 8 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: It was hot. It was hot. Jesus God, Pinedale, I thought it was a hot place, but we endured it. And, Jesus, we were only there maybe one or two months, you know, two months. And, doggone it, we went to Tule Lake from there. INTERVIEWER: Where did you sleep in Pinedale? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was a temporary thing, you know, Pinedale, so we had a meal, and we were in dishwashing crew, you know. So I was young and so I sang [24:00] a song all the way at that time, that “You Are My Sunshine,” yeah [laughs]. That’s all I know. But, doggone it, it was real fun, yeah. INTERVIEWER: So you had fun washing dishes? SAKAGAMI: Well, we broke more than we washed [laughs]. But, what the heck, that was the army chow anyway so, doggone it. It was fun, though. It was fun. INTERVIEWER: What was your reactions to the accommodations at Pinedale? SAKAGAMI: Well, we had to fill up a mattress, you know, with the straw and, son of a gun, that wasn’t very good. It was hot so, doggone it, the post sank right into the asphalt. It was so hot that it was---they made it temporary so, Jesus God, you know, that was the life at that time, yeah. Oh, it was enjoyable, in a way, but, doggone it, I had to wait a long line for get a ice cream, you know. But, what the heck, that was a long time ago. INTERVIEWER: They served ice cream at Pinedale? SAKAGAMI: No, you had to buy it. Yeah, you had to buy it. But, doggone it, we waited in line for hour or two, and hour or two you had nothing to do anyway, so hour or two is nothing, too, yeah. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 9 of 44 �INTERVIEWER: What was the food like? SAKAGAMI: Food? INTERVIEWER: The food. SAKAGAMI: Food? Oh, well, it was edible. Yeah, it wasn’t---nothing like Jews, the way they were treated. Well, doggone it, it was nothing like that. But, doggone it, we were in camp, we were citizens, you know. Yeah, but, doggone it, we were treated same as 4-C, you know, 4-C, yeah. Jesus God, it was good life, though, it was a good life [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: Okay, we’re going to pause and change tapes. BEGINNING OF TAPE TWO INTERVIEWER: Okay, Mas, now take me to Tule Lake. What was---or actually, before we do that, tell me, did you have any bad experiences at Pinedale? SAKAGAMI: No, no, I didn’t have no bad experience. Only it was different, you know. Yeah, well, doggone it, they used to write in the toilet, you know, outhouse, you know, and, doggone it, they used to write, kids, real good, so doggone it, I used to read all that sign on the walls. But, doggone it, it was good. Yeah, it was good. INTERVIEWER: What about your family? How did your brothers and sisters take the move? SAKAGAMI: Well, my sister was living at that time. I had four, one brother and two sisters living at that time. And son of a gun they're dead now but, doggone it, they were enjoying life, yeah. My nephew that was born This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 10 of 44 �in Tule Lake---well, doggone it there were two in born in Tule Lake and, doggone it, my sister that committed suicide, well, doggone it, she was in Tule Lake, too, yeah. But, doggone it, it was good life, though. It wasn’t, you know, like a holocaust, you know, holocaust, but, doggone it, it was [02:00] a better life than we would have expected anyway. INTERVIEWER: Now when you went from Pinedale to Tule Lake, how did you get there? SAKAGAMI: We went on a train, yeah, we went on the train and, doggone it, it only took us maybe couple of three hour or something like that. But, doggone it, we went on the train. Yeah, I think from Fresno to---we were transported to Fresno on a truck and then we got on the train and then we went to Tule Lake which was real nice, you know, compared to what we are living in. Yeah. But, oh, what the heck, it was a good life at that time. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember your first day at Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Well, I don’t know too much about it, but, doggone it, I remember that Tule Lake was---I lived in Block 59, it was Alaska, and, doggone it, it was---my brother was pretty popular, so, doggone it, he was a block president, and the manager was, I think, Nakamura and then Moose Hashiguchi, yeah. It was real good at that time, though, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Did you take any jobs at Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Yeah, I was working at a farm, irrigating. And then [04:00] we used to monkey around the field that we did irrigating, and we didn't have to irrigate in Washington but we did over on Tule Lake, so it was kind of fun, yeah. And then we used to flood the field and, doggone it, we used to, you know, fix it up so--and potatoes, they were gowning potatoes at that time. I think, 300, 400 acre of something like that, and Jesus---'cause it was real, real good, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What did you do for fun at Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 11 of 44 �Fun? INTERVIEWER: Fun. SAKAGAMI: Well, I went to church, you know, because I wasn’t very religious person, but, doggone it, I went to church because my girl was---I met a girl in Tule Lake and, son of a gun, I said, well, “I'm gonna get married to her.” But, doggone it, I'm not married to her, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What---so how did this relationship develop at Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Relationship? INTERVIEWER: Yeah, with this woman that you went to church with. SAKAGAMI: Well, her name is---Aochi is her name, but, doggone it, I met her a couple of years ago in Tacoma because she was from Tacoma, and maybe her husband is dead now, but, doggone it, it was a---we didn't have no picture [06:00] so we---I drew her picture. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What other things do you remember about Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Well, Tule Lake, I don’t remember too much, but, doggone it, I---it was a big camp, and we used to steal panel off of old farmhouse that made of---was there, you know. And, doggone it, we used to make a toboggan, yeah, and we used to ride on that. And my brother who was living at that time, doggone it, he flipped it over because he was too, you know, way up on top of the Castle Rock, and son of a gun, it was pretty steep, you know, but it used to snow, you know, and it was cold, yeah, it was cold, maybe got below zero, yeah. But, doggone it, it was real good. Yeah, I went to work in chasing the geese out of a field over there, you know, because they had barley and, oh, maybe couple thousand acre or whatever there was, and Jesus God, how they used to shoot them. But, doggone it, we didn’t have no gun so we had a slingshot and we got pheasants galore, oh, pheasant was galore. And Jesus God, I had to get some This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 12 of 44 �so, Jesus God, I made a slingshot and shot 'em. And once in a while I'd get one, but, what the heck, it was fun, though. INTERVIEWER: What did you do with the pheasant? SAKAGAMI: Pheasant? Oh, well, I didn’t eat it because we didn’t have no cooking facility, so we just like to kill [laughs]. Yeah, but, what the heck, it was fun, in a way, it was fun, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What other things do you remember? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was big, the camp was big and, doggone it, we were young at that time so, doggone it, we were in the 20s, you know, 20---24 was when I got in the army so, yeah, I was in the 20s yet, and Jesus God, I used to enjoy whatever there was, you know, and, doggone it, the camp was big, it was big, Jesus God, there was, I think, 10,000 or over 10,000 in Tule Lake so, Jesus God, it was pretty big. Yeah, you know, I hate to go walk from one end to the other end of the camp because it was too far. I was young at that time, but I don’t want to walk no more. INTERVIEWER: What was the food like? SAKAGAMI: Oh, food, food it was okay. Yeah, sometimes the cook was [10:00] better. So we used to go to the camp that on the block that was a better cook, you know. That was about it, yeah. Oh, I didn’t do too much of that, no. INTERVIEWER: What is one of the saddest memories that you have of Tule Lake? Sad, did you have any sad memories of Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I don’t have no sad memory. My sister was committed suicide, but, doggone it, I was sad, but, doggone it, I would have done the same thing if I was in her same shoe, you know, in her shoes, yeah. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 13 of 44 �She committed suicide in Tule Lake? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] She committed suicide while she was in Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Oh no, no, she committed suicide after she was getting married over in Ogden, Utah and, son of a gun, she---mind broke down and, son of a gun, she went in the hospital. When she came back, while she--they had to put her in Steilacoom, you know. And, doggone it, she was there for couple of year, maybe a year or two and, doggone it, she got well. And the Isseis were living at that time, so they tried to fix her up with something else and, doggone it, she worried over that, she got sick again. Yeah, she has a weak mind. But, what the heck, that’s a long time ago [12:00], you know, yeah. INTERVIEWER: How long were you in Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I was in there about a year, yeah. Yeah, I was---so it was---experience was real good to me. To me, it was real good. But, doggone it, for some people it's not, no, not so good. INTERVIEWER: Did you participate in any sports while in Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Well, I played baseball, because my brother was a good sportsman, you know, and athlete. So, Jesus, I played baseball but I would rather go fishing, and then, I like fishing so, Jesus God, I still love fishing but, you know, you can’t catch anything now, because there ain't none. But, doggone it, at that time there was a little bit of fish left yet so, doggone it, we had enjoyable time, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Did you get to go fishing while in Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: No, I didn’t go Tule Lake. I wanted to fish, though, but, doggone it, I took my pole along with me, but, doggone it, I didn’t fish because in camp, you know. INTERVIEWER: Were you able to go outside the gate at Tule Lake? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 14 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: No, no, no, we stayed---we act like a herd of cow, you know. We were Japanese and, doggone it, they would tell us not to go outside so we didn’t go outside, yeah. INTERVIEWER: How did you get the pheasants, then? SAKAGAMI: Huh? INTERVIEWER: How did you shoot the pheasants? SAKAGAMI: Well, slingshot, [14:00] slingshot. I made a slingshot and I made it out of knotty pine, you know, and made a slingshot. And, what the heck, you got a bird once in a while because there's a whole mess of 'em. Yeah, there's maybe thousand or five hundred or maybe hundred of 'em come out one time, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Now let’s move into your military. How did you hear about---you were drafted? SAKAGAMI: Yeah, I was drafted. I was drafted in '30---'40---'44, yeah, ‘44, and I got my notice so I quit my job and I went to Boise, Idaho and had little bit of time so, Jesus God, I worked over in the Hillcrest Country Club over in Boise, and that’s where they got me. INTERVIEWER: Before they drafted you, did you have to take that loyalty oath? SAKAGAMI: Yeah, I had to do loyalty oath in camp, Tule Lake camp, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What did you think of that? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 15 of 44 �Well, it's one of the questions and I had put no-yes. Yeah, I no-yes. So when they drafted me and, what the heck, I’m in the Army and I came out of it alive. INTERVIEWER: Why did you sign no-yes and not yes-yes or no-no? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] Why did you sign [16:00] no-yes and not yes-yes or no-no? SAKAGAMI: Well, that’s the thing that the way I was brought up, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember what the questions were about that you answered? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was no good, you know, it was---no-no was no good, but so I put down no-yes and, son of a gun, they drafted me [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: Was there any commotion about the loyalty oath in Tule Lake? SAKAGAMI: Well, there was a story that I heard, now, I heard lot of story but, doggone it, there was some people that was no-no. Well, by golly, they---they were 'fraid but, doggone it, there wasn’t too many of those, you know, because I didn’t hear too much, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember having any arguments with people on how you should answer or what you should write? SAKAGAMI: No, no, I didn’t, I didn’t argue with people. INTERVIEWER: How about your brother, do you remember how he answered? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 16 of 44 �Well, I guess he answered no-yes too, because he was drafted too. Yeah, my brother was in the Army too, but he was a cook at the MIS. Interviewed: What was your brother’s name? SAKAGAMI: Matsuo Sakagami. Yeah, he was a real good athlete, though, because he went to Japan and played baseball, and did judo in California too, because he was good in judo. He was number one in Seattle area at that time, yeah. [18:00] INTERVIEWER: And he was in MIS? SAKAGAMI: Yeah, he was in MIS, yeah, but what a heck, he’s dead now because he drank too much. INTERVIEWER: Could you speak Japanese too, then? SAKAGAMI: I speak Japanese? Yeah, I could speak Japanese but not very good. Yeah, Jesus God, a couple of years ago, I went to, Ca[nada], I mean, Vancouver, B.C. for convention, you know, and, doggone it, Shiga-ken, you know, I was born in Shiga-ken. My folks were Shiga-ken people. So these [indiscernible], the people in Japan, they were real Shiga-ken, you know, so these [indiscernible], they were the only club that they existed now that they were real active in Shiga-ken, you know, yeah. So they're---they still have it even now, but I belong to Shiga-ken because of, I belong to that club because Shiga-ken people holds it, you know, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What---after you were drafted, had you already heard about some of the stories of the 100th? SAKAGAMI: Well, they were winning and I didn’t want to get killed. I didn’t want to get killed so---but I [20:00] didn’t even get a scratch, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Why did you go in the 100th versus MIS like your brother? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 17 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Well, I took MIS test in camp, I mean, in Camp Blanding, Florida, and son of a gun, I failed. I thought I can speak pretty good Japanese but, doggone it, I was no good. I was dumb [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: So then when did you find out you would be 100th replacement? SAKAGAMI: Well, they stuck us in any place. There were---we trained as replacement, you know, so we learned from machine guns to pistol, rifle, BR [BAR] machine gun, and cannon, 57 millimeter, yeah. INTERVIEWER: And what was your specialty? SAKAGAMI: Well, they stuck us any place they want you. So, doggone it, some guys are smaller than me but they were radioman but, doggone it, radio at that time was heavy. But, doggone it, now maybe it’s lighter now but, doggone it, at that time it was heavy. Yeah. So, I went in the Army as a replacement and they stuck me in there and I took it. INTERVIEWER: What was Florida like? SAKAGAMI: Florida, well, I saw my first firefly. I saw my first firefly in the---it was basic training, you know, which is replacement so, Jesus God, there was only four---lasted only four months or something like that, [22:00] and we had to train everything. We had to train everything. We even had to shoot at a plane, yeah, but it was a model plane. And we didn’t hit it the broadside of the barn. INTERVIEWER: Was the training difficult, though? SAKAGAMI: Well, we took it as they come, you know, and, doggone it, I remember lots of the---Sergeant Mays, Langlois, Edwards, so I remember some of the commanders, you know. Well, yeah, I remember our commander was Gunderson, in the field, yeah, but those are the little thing, you know. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 18 of 44 �What---did you meet Hawaii people while you were training? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] Hawaii folks, did you meet them while you were training? SAKAGAMI: Rifle? INTERVIEWER: No, Hawaii boys? SAKAGAMI: Hawaii boys? No, I didn’t meet a Hawaii boy until I went oversea, and then they did talk funny so their, you know, their pidgin English, you know. So, Jesus God, we didn’t get along with them, you know. But, doggone it, now we're together with now. Yeah, but at that time it was no---the opposite way. INTERVIEWER: Why do you think that was? SAKAGAMI: Huh? INTERVIEWER: Why did you thing that was? SAKAGAMI: That was? INTERVIEWER: Why do you feel that it was opposite? SAKAGAMI: Well, because they were jealous of us guys talking English and, son of a gun, they talk in pidgin English, you know, so, [24:00] doggone it, the kotonk, we're kotonk, and, doggone it, Hawaii boys were kanaka so they---I call 'em kanakas. But, what the heck, they're together now, though. Yeah, because we're close to death bed now. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 19 of 44 �What---going back to your training, do you remember the first time you shot the rifles? SAKAGAMI: Yeah. I can’t hear very good now because maybe there was that rifle but, doggone it, maybe it’s old age, you know, but, doggone it, I went to V.A. office about three months ago, four months ago and, son of gun, they clean my ear and ear wax came out, Jesus God, it's plugged up, I couldn’t hear nothing. But, doggone it, now I could hear pretty good but, doggone it, I can't hear, like you say, you know, every word. I can't hear---I don’t go to funeral but is---I don’t---anything---I’m at a loss because I can’t hear, yeah, so I go to sleep, you know. I close my eyes, anyway. INTERVIEWER: Now take me---when you first got your orders that you were gonna ship out, what was that like? SAKAGAMI: Ship out? Well, Jesus God, we expected that, yeah. We were trained as a replacement so, doggone it, we expected [26:00] that. And I came out of army life without a scratch, yeah, I didn’t even get a Purple Heart. INTERVIEWER: How long did it take you to get out---when you first got to Florida, how long was it before you shipped overseas? SAKAGAMI: Well, we got a vacation, oh, about couple of weeks or something like that, and went to---I didn’t have no folks at that time so I went to Nampa, Idaho, or Caldwell, Idaho, and Jesus God, I stayed with Warren Tamura. But he was in the same company I was with, yeah. But he---he got---his wife is dead now but, doggone it, his Junko, his sister, is still living yet, but all the rest of 'em are all dead now, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What did you do during that vacation? SAKAGAMI: Well, I enjoyed myself, yeah. I went to Caldwell, Idaho and stayed with these people and I met some girls that I didn’t know but, doggone it, it was real good at that time, yeah. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 20 of 44 �Then when did you ship out? SAKAGAMI: Well, I was in January, I think, was 1944, I think, er, ‘45, and these---we went to [28:00] New York from Camp Shanks. New York and then shipped out from there, so DeLuca was our commander and he was, oh, he was okay but, doggone it, after the war, couple of years ago, doggone it, his daughter went to Hawaii for vacation and, doggone it, he's dead now, you know, DeLuca is dead now. And, doggone it, he was a 4-4-2, never ran. But I remember when it was the opposite way. We got a mix-ups on the line, oh, couple of weeks after the war, but, doggone it, we ran because at that time there was no radio at that time so, doggone it, it was a man to man and, son of a gun, you pass the word to next guy and, son of gun, they start running, well, you ran too. And he was left alone, the captain was left alone. Johnston was our captain and, doggone it, he was left alone. BEGINNING OF TAPE THREE INTERVIEWER: Okay, Mas, tell me about when you got the orders and you're gonna ship out, tell me about the trip overseas? SAKAGAMI: How many? INTERVIEWER: Tell me about the trip overseas. SAKAGAMI: Well, I got sick. No sooner as I get out of harbor, you know, New York harbor, and I got sick. And I was sick, maybe,---it took us maybe seven days to get across but, doggone it, we were on the Aquitania and we got sick because there's maybe, oh, I heard there was over 10,000 people on that ship, you know, because the war was going on. So I got sick and, Jesus God, I puked. And don’t puke against the wind [laughs]. Somebody else gonna get it. I got sick, you know. I think it worried that, doggone it, I didn’t care if they sunk us because I was so sick. INTERVIEWER: When you went to New York before you got on the boat, was that your first time to New York? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 21 of 44 �Yeah, that was my first time. INTERVIEWER: What was that like? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was New York and, doggone it, they had a USO show, you know, so we went to Washington, D.C. to camp, I don’t know what, Fort Meade [02:00], yeah, Fort Meade. And we went to Washington, D.C. and that’s where I bought my brother a Bulova watch. Because Bulova watch was the only thing I could think of. So, Jesus God, I said, “I’ll go leave something for my brother” and, Jesus God, I lived the longest in my life, yeah, my family, yeah. INTERVIEWER: So then when you were on the Aquitania, what was that boat like? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was an old ship, you know, but, doggone it, it was a, oh, we were stuck in the way in the bottom. We didn’t care if submarine sank us or nothing. But, doggone it, I was really delirious, you know, sick. Yeah, but, what the heck, I came out of it and we went to Glasgow, England, and then from Glasgow we went to Southampton which is all the way across, you know, and Southampton to Le Havre, and Le Havre we got on a landing ship and they dropped us right off at the beach there. And, doggone it, we had to walk over to camp at that time so it was muddy and, son of a gun, we had to wear galoshes. Jesus God, it was---[04:00] feet was getting wet but, doggone it, it’s better than nothing. They didn't have no size. These galoshes were galoshes and it kept our feet dry, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Coming from Washington, and now you’re seeing all these sights and the first time you’re overseas, what are you thinking and tell me the emotion and what were you thinking at that time? SAKAGAMI: Well, main thing is to stay alive and, doggone it, I’m still alive yet and---but, doggone it, at that wartime it was no good, it was no good. Yeah, war is no good. INTERVIEWER: Now when you got to---when did you first meet up with the 100th? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 22 of 44 �Well, I met with---my first sergeant’s still alive yet, yeah, and there's couple of guys that I know in Hawaii that kicked the bucket but they were alive yet. And my first sergeant he’s got a---I got a addresses in a book, but, doggone it, he’s still alive, he’s 80 years old now, yeah, but, doggone it, he, you know, I hope to make 80 but, doggone it, I don’t know, I’m forgetful now. INTERVIEWER: Where---once you got to Italy, when did you meet up with your company? SAKAGAMI: Well, I would meet up with the company in Southern France. Yeah, Champagne Campaign, yeah. That’s where I joined the [06:00] 4-4-2 and the 100th Battalion. And they stuck us in---and I got sick on the truck. They were going up that road, you know, and curvy and, sun of a gun, I got sick. I was sitting in the back of a truck. Yeah, I got sick. But, what the heck, they took a crap, somebody took a crap and they made us stand one hour for straight up attention for one hour because they ding us, you know. So they want to know if somebody did have to go he had to go; he didn’t know where the latrine was. So, doggone it, they issued us a old rifle, you know, Cosmoline, oh-six or something, you know. Yeah, Jesus, that's First World War son of a gun. And, son of a gun, we cleaned it up and my sergeant threw it away and give me a, it wasn't zeroed in, but it was a MI rifle and, doggone it, I kept it and, son of a gun, when I went into action a couple of weeks after I pushed off, well, doggone it, this Hawaiian guy that given me his gun, well, doggone it, he got hit, you know, and [08:00] I fell right on a Tommy gun. So, Jesus, I picked up a Tommy gun and I kept that because it’s better than a rifle. INTERVIEWER: What was your first experience of battle? SAKAGAMI: Well, battle was in Carrara, the Gothic line, you know, they broke. And 4-4-2 was called for that, you know, the 100th. But it was a heck of a thing to see. Yeah, Jesus God, I saw my---Mas Odoi was his name, but, doggone it, he got hit about less than five minutes after we jumped off, yeah, and I couldn’t stay there because it was zeroed in. So, Jesus, I had to leave him there and he’s the first person that I know that got hit, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What went through your mind when you first saw that? Five minutes after you jump off the . . .? SAKAGAMI: Well, I couldn’t help it. They tell us we're zeroed in so don’t help anybody, so I kept on going and, son of a gun, I’m still here alive here because that Mas Odoi wrote story about me, yeah, and, doggone it, he’s This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 23 of 44 �a, [10:00] what the hell, valedictorian in family, I mean, class, yeah. South Bend, Oregon, I mean, Washington. And, Jesus God, he’s real smart, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Were you scared? SAKAGAMI: Well, I was scared. Naturally, I was scared. I didn’t want no stripe or nothing. But I wanted---I came out alive because I didn’t go to church either but, Jesus God, but Chaplain Yost used to be a chaplain in 100th Battalion and, son of a gun, he used to say those who believe in God who are baptized, and I wasn’t baptized, so I was gonna get baptized but, doggone it, I went into Army, oh, just before we pushed off, you know. And son of a gun, Chaplain Yost said that so, Jesus God, I said, “I’m gonna get baptized,” but I didn’t get baptized; I’m a Buddhist yet. And I’m not a very good church people. I don’t go to church. INTERVIEWER: So take me through that first incident of that first battle that you saw. SAKAGAMI: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Tell me about that. SAKAGAMI: Well, my sergeant was---Leonard Takasugi was his name. And, doggone it, I won’t forget him because he---I took a basic and I took, not basic, but, [12:00] doggone it, just before you went up to the line, well, doggone it, we have to go through all that, what we learn, you know. And son of a gun, he took my place and he moved me on the first day and, son of a gun, he got killed in the hole I dug and I’m safe. So I’m glad of that but, doggone it, if he didn't move me, I would have been dead because 88, they were shooting 88 at that time. And son of a gun, he got killed with the 88. INTERVIEWER: What’s an 88? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 24 of 44 �88 is a---at that time it was a---88 was a German artillery which is just looks like a---fast like a M1, yeah, M1 rifle and, Jesus God, it comes right away. And, doggone it, this---that fella that wrote about us and he was a---wrote about me and he said it was a mortar shell. But, doggone it, it was an 88. INTERVIEWER: What was---what goes through your mind when you first hear bullets coming at you? SAKAGAMI: I didn’t know from outgoing artillery, [14:00] that’s going over, from incoming. Yeah, Jesus, I didn’t know what. I was all mixed up, you know, because I don’t want to get killed, you know. So, Jesus God, it was a heck of a life but, doggone it, I’m still kicking yet and, doggone it, it’s good that we got experience on that, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Was it scary to see dead bodies? Did you see that? SAKAGAMI: Oh yeah. All the Germans especially, you know. I never saw a dead person in my life, you know, but that’s the first time I saw 'em and, Jesus God, it made me sick in the stomach because I saw that, you know. But, doggone it, after a couple of weeks, well, Jesus God, I was kicking those dead Germans, yeah. It was no good, though. Army life is no good. INTERVIEWER: What was the hardest part about that first experience of battle? SAKAGAMI: Well, naturally I’m scared, you know, so, doggone it, you want to save yourself and then maybe get a Purple Heart for a little nick in the butt or something, buttock. I was---I didn’t even get a scratch, you know. Yeah, my, Kengo Otsuka was his name, and he’s from someplace in California and, son of gun, he was---he got stuck in his eye, yeah. [16:00] Because somebody in front of him, one of the---got in the way so, doggone it, plucked it up and then, doggone it, he stabbed him in the eye and he’s blind in one eye or he’s partially blind, anyway. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: You mean his own man? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 25 of 44 �Yeah, own man, yeah. Well, you know, you do whatever you feel like doing and, doggone it, it happened to be in back of him and, son of a gun, he got blind in one eye, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the next battle after your first experience? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was like---L Company, they went up the steep hill. They climbed up all the steep hill that the enemy didn’t think the American were going to come from that way. But, doggone it, they climbed all night and, son of a gun, they trapped the Germans, so we got 'em within one day or something like that, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Where were you when L Company was climbing the cliff? Where was your company? SAKAGAMI: Well, I didn’t know that they were---because our troop was 100th Battalion was on reserve first day and, son of a gun, [18:00] they were---I can’t explain myself but, Jesus God, I’m no good but, doggone it, I can’t even think now. Jesus, when you ask questions, Jesus, I get it all balled up [laughs]. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: But where---what battle is this that you’re telling me about? SAKAGAMI: Well . . . INTERVIEWER: Is this breaking the Gothic Line? SAKAGAMI: Gothic Line, yeah. The Gothic line is a---they took us maybe half a year they were stuck in that, you know, and, son of a gun, we took it in one day or something like that. And son of a gun, that was the war, you know, that was the war. Yeah, we---they had it planned, you know, they had it planned because those L Company went up to that steep hill, they climbed up and they didn’t expect that so, doggone it, the Germans were sleeping and, doggone it, they got---some people got killed but, doggone it, most of 'em are alive yet. But, doggone it, you know, they took the back of the Germans, yeah, they--there was 90 [milli]meter mortar shell, yeah. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 26 of 44 �INTERVIEWER: What was the importance of the Gothic Line? SAKAGAMI: Point? INTERVIEWER: What was the importance of getting the Gothic line? SAKAGAMI: Well, Gothic Line was---these American was stuck there for pretty near [20:00] a half a year. That’s why it was so . . . So they called us on 4-4-2 to break that and, son of a gun, we were in reserve, but, doggone it, Able Company was first one that went into the battle but, doggone it, I don’t remember that, you know. But I remember the 4-4-2 was---100th Battalion was on reserve, Charlie Company was on reserve. And Able and Baker Company was right below us Dog Company, I don’t know. But I know the Baker Company was right below us and first day of the battle, doggone it, my assistant BAR man, he went to sleep [laughs]. He was old enough. Oh, maybe he was 33 years or 32 years old and, doggone it, he went to sleep. And, geez, I didn’t want to get killed. So I was freezing in, you know---I happened to be---we had to go on a, what the heck, I can’t think of it. Jesus God, I’m really a heck of an interview. But, doggone it, I don’t know what I’m [22:00] talking about. INTERVIEWER: So after L Company got to the top of the hill what did C Company do the next day? SAKAGAMI: C Company, we didn’t know that, we didn’t know that. I joined the L Company after the war. That’s why I know that (22:00) L Company went through the, you know, what they did, you know. But, doggone it, after the war, I’m not too sure, but I joined the L Company because Ben Sugawara was first sergeant and he didn’t see too much action but, doggone it, he was the first sergeant, he's a good man. And son of a gun, he told me that join the L Company because they are the most active company in Seattle. And son of a gun, I joined the L Company because of that, yeah. INTERVIEWER: When---after L Company did take the Gothic Line, how long was it before the war ended? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 27 of 44 �Well, a couple of three weeks after that, war ended. Because we jumped off at April 5, and one month later---I was born in 5/5/21, you know, so, Jesus God, it was---I got my Christmas card or [24:00] some haole send me some package and it was wartime, you know, so I remember that. And his name was Wally Ryan. I went to his---both parents, they're dead now but, doggone it, I went to both parents' funeral, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the Gothic Line like? Do you remember what it was like? SAKAGAMI: Well, Gothic Line was the Gothic Line. I didn’t know it was a Gothic Line till when I heard about it but, doggone it, it was just a line and, you know, like 92nd was ahead of us and they had that line for five months or whatever it was and, son of a gun, being black. Well, doggone it, they weren’t too good of a fighter, they're good athlete but they're not a good soldier, you know. But, what the heck, you know, that happened a long time ago, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the weather like out there? SAKAGAMI: Well, weather was, like you say, you never saw a firefly. Well, by golly, I saw a firefly because, geez, when I went into the line, well, Jesus God, I thought, oh, there’s flashlights all over the place. What the heck, it turned out to be a firefly. Yeah. But, what the heck, you know, [26:00] I’m still alive and it’s a good thing it happened. INTERVIEWER: What did you guys do about meals when you were out there? Your food, how did you---what did you do about meals? SAKAGAMI: Oh, meals? Well, Jesus God, C-ration or K-ration, you know, and, son of a gun, I had to go after it first day that we were on line and, son of a gun, I didn’t want to go after it. It's just like a Champagne Campaign I didn't want to go on a scout, you know. Jesus God, I just came up here. Well, Jesus God, send somebody else. I was chicken, you know. But, doggone it, that was it, yeah. INTERVIEWER: And then what did you do about going to the bathroom when you were out there? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 28 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Well, when I joined the Army, first time in Champagne Campaign in Southern France, well, doggone it, every rock had unko [feces] in it [laughs]. Yeah, because, you know, they had to go someplace. And they use a OD color, you know, yeah, because they didn't want anything white, so they didn’t want to, you know, didn't want to let the enemy know that. So they use OD, you know, olive drab. INTERVIEWER: So was it scary just to try to go to the bathroom? SAKAGAMI: No, no, heck no. [28:00] You had to go, you had to go [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: So how long were you out near the Gothic Line? SAKAGAMI: Well, like it was maybe half an hour, I mean, half a day or something like that and it was all over. Because you didn’t stay in one place, yeah. We kept on moving. BEGINNING OF TAPE FOUR SAKAGAMI: He had an opera[tion], I mean, reunion over there, yeah. So that was the first time I went to California. INTERVIEWER: So after, when you were at the Gothic Line, where did you move to next? SAKAGAMI: Well, I went to, from the Gothic Line we went to L Company, we were with the L Company guys, and I found Mount Folgorito. Jesus God, it’s just another hill as far as I’m concerned. But, doggone it, we were supposed to take, oh, Ohio one, two, three, or something like that, and Belvedere was one of the hills that we were supposed to take, but we got stuck on the first place, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What happened? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 29 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Well, doggone it, German stopped us. And that’s when Harry Mukai went to sleep. He was my BAR man, you know, he was assistant, you know. But, doggone it, he went to---and he couldn’t carry---next day we moved up the line, and, son of a gun, we were maybe the first one or something like that, because, you know, they take turn on first squad, second squad, and Able Company, Charlie Company or something like that. Well, doggone it, they take turns. So, they take---well, we were on, I think we were on the first, [02:00] line, you know. But we saw couple of Germans and that made me sick, you know, when I saw the dead Germans, because we had to go up, up the forward slope, you know, and it made me sick to see a dead German. But, doggone it, after a couple of weeks, well, doggone it, I got used to it. INTERVIEWER: When did you first have to shoot your rifle? SAKAGAMI: Well, my BAR man---I was a BAR man because Browning automatic rifle, and, doggone it, I shot it on the second day. But, doggone it, I was shooting at a little cave up above of Mount Belvedere or something like that and, Jesus, the Germans were hiding right below that. And, son of a gun, they had a emplacement with, in, I think, second day or so, well, doggone it, P-30, 51 or, I don't know, they came to help us, plane. And, doggone it, I remember that because there wasn’t too many airplane at that that time, anyway. Yeah, but, doggone it, they had to show, La Spezia, they had a [04:00] shore gun, you know, that big, big son of a gun, and, son of a gun, they were shooting at us at that time. And, son of a gun, you could hear those---makes like “gwa-gwa”, big noise. And when it hits the mountainside, well, Jesus God, it shakes the whole place up, yeah. But, doggone it, went through all that, and we didn't get a---I didn't get a hit, yeah. I didn't get a Purple Heart. INTERVIEWER: Did you see, did you actually see---you see what you were shooting at? Could you see what you were shooting at when you were shooting? SAKAGAMI: No, no, we didn’t see. We didn’t get to see too much of that. German, I remember one time that they were conversing each other, they were speaking German, and, doggone it, we didn’t understand German, but, doggone it, they were real close to us guys, you know, they were real close. So we took turns, but, doggone it, that was the one---the last---Major Fukuda was one of the leaders, and, son of a gun, he was---he went on a task force someplace, and, doggone it, it's just before that we saw that action. And, oh, I---there were two grenades that you---given to us, and then we tape it [06:00] together because, you know, they fall off, you know. So these---one of the boys, Bill Takeda, was his name, he’s from Northwest, and I used to do judo with him and, doggone it, he got killed by the grenade going off. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 30 of 44 �Because after the war, now, yeah, after the war was over. It was over but it was still going on at that time, but we didn’t know that there was gonna be couple of days before it's all over. But we were in Alessandria, Florida, I mean, Italy; Alessandria, Italy, yeah. And then we pulled back to Novi Ligure and went to one or two weeks over at Milan for honor guard, you know. Because I was selected as---I was big, so, Jesus God, they just stuck me in there and made me look good, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Okay, so, you were telling me about shooting the rifle, but you never saw exactly what you were shooting. So you could hear them . . . SAKAGAMI: No, no, we heard them talking, but, doggone it, that’s one time that I have experienced, you know, because German were---we didn’t understand German anyway, but, doggone it, they were talking right, real close, yeah, they were real close. In fact I killed one. [08:00] I killed one German, yeah. But, doggone it, that was a long time ago, and he shot at me, I was shooting at somebody else, and I had a Tommy gun so I shot him and I killed him. Yeah, I got a picture of him too. I got a picture of him in that picture. INTERVIEWER: So you took a picture of the guy you shot? SAKAGAMI: No. He kept a photograph of himself. And then, son of a gun, he didn't have---he was bald, so, doggone it, I picked up that photograph and I still got it in my album. And, doggone it, well, I fell on a Tommy gun that night, you know, Stanley Kimura from Honolulu was a---got hit. He was a squad leader. And, doggone it, he got hit, so---and our assistant, I think, Bill Moto was---he’s from Monterey, California, and he was a first sergeant, I mean, squad sergeant, yeah. I was assistant squad sergeant. But that’s experience, you know. INTERVIEWER: What happened that---tell me about that incident when you ended up picking up a Tommy gun? SAKAGAMI: Well, I happened to lay on a Tommy gun and I threw my M1 away because, Jesus, you know, at that (10:00) time I think I was a assistant [10:00] squad leader, and, doggone it, I was, maybe, carbine. Carbine was what we were supposed to carry. But I had an M1, you know, because, you know, we didn’t have no chance [or] time to exchange your rifle, you know, to carbine, so, Jesus God, I had a---I fell right on it. So, Jesus, I says Tommy gun is better than M1, so I exchanged it. And with that, I killed Germans, yeah. But, you know, I threw one grenade at night, and maybe I hit him, I don’t know. But, This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 31 of 44 �doggone it, I threw a grenade because I saw a flash come out from the rifle that he was shooting, and so I shoot, er, I threw right in the direction of him. And next grenade that I had, I only carried two grenade, and, son of a gun, I threw it and, son of a gun, I hit a sapling [laughs]. And it fell over and exploded, and that was my second grenade that I threw away. But, doggone it, they got a---after that, I got more grenades, but, doggone it, they wouldn't do any good because I threw away [laughs]. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was the . . . [Interview stops, then resumes.] So what was the next incident [12:00] after that, after you picked up the Tommy gun and you shot your . . .? SAKAGAMI: It was all---war was over. Yeah, and it was a couple of three weeks after we pushed off. We pushed off on April '45, 5th, yeah, but, doggone it, the war was over, yeah. INTERVIEWER: How did you hear about the war being over? SAKAGAMI: Oh, well, I came out of it alive and so I went to Hawaii. I never thought I would go to Hawaii, but I went to Hawaii six times and that’s enough. I didn’t go last time because it's too hot for me. INTERVIEWER: Back in Italy, when, how, how did you feel when you heard the war was over? SAKAGAMI: Well, I came out of it alive so I was real glad that the war was over. But I was in the whorehouse [laughs]. And we're lined up, you know, all the guys that are young, so, Jesus God, they had a lot of poop, but, doggone it, they came [and] they alerted us, so we had to leave the damn whorehouse. INTERVIEWER: Where was that at? SAKAGAMI: Alessandria. Alessandria. Hell, war was over in Alessandria. I remember that because I was in a whorehouse. But, what the heck, I didn’t do anything. INTERVIEWER: So you went to Alessandria, and then how long were you there? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 32 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Well, maybe one day. One day. [14:00] And then we pulled back to Novi Ligure and we stayed there for maybe couple of days and then they asked me to go to honor guard for Milan. So I went to Milan for maybe a week or two and then went to Ghedi airport where we process all that German. And, doggone it, they lost the war and, by golly, it was good thing it was over, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What was Milan like? SAKAGAMI: Oh, Milan is Po Valley and it's in Northern Italy, yeah. But it’s pretty clean yet because it wasn’t devastated like Leghorn or Pisa or . . . Because Leghorn was more devastated than Pisa or Florence. But, doggone it, they went through Pisa, yeah, Pisa. INTERVIEWER: During the downtime, what did you guys do to keep yourselves busy? SAKAGAMI: Well, I went to USO show, (16:00) because they had USO show at that time. And, I think, Jean Gardner and Jinx Falkenburg or something was too attractive, you know. She was hairy, though. But, what the heck, it was a long time ago, and, doggone it, it was good thing that I’m alive. INTERVIEWER: What would you say is the most or the hardest thing that you had to endure during your stay in Italy? SAKAGAMI: Well, they used to, you know, German, I mean, Italians used to steal quite a bit. And, doggone it, when we were in camp in Livorno, or outside of Livorno, I don’t know where it is now, but, doggone it, it was Livorno, and we were watching a German prisoner, you know; and, in fact, I shot at a American GI because he stole a---he got drunk and he stole a jeep, you know, and he went the wrong way and I shot the wheel. I saw a spark fly out, so I know I hit him. But, doggone it, I emptied my pistol at him, and, son of a gun, he kept on going and pretty soon he was in the ditch because I shot at the wheel, you know. And, doggone it, I went to court-martial him, too, yeah, I went to a court-martial, yeah. Well, I don’t know what happen to him, but, doggone it, I shot at him, yeah. INTERVIEWER: So he stole the jeep and then you ended up even going to court for his court-martial for stealing the jeep? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 33 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Yeah, he stole the jeep [18:00]. He was drunk, though. I think he was drunk, because---but then he stole the jeep and, you know, you do anything in the Army that---like Shiro Kashino that was I Company. He was a staff sergeant or something like that and he got busted because he, you know, he did what he did, you know. And he went to line five or six times after he got wounded, you know. I wouldn't went through all that, but, doggone it, he went through all that. He was a staff sergeant in I Company, and he was a real good man, yeah, he was a good man. Yeah, he took care of all the reunion things over in Seattle because he was a real good man. INTERVIEWER: So after your stay in Milan, then where did you go? SAKAGAMI: Well, after the line, well, we went to rest area, Ghedi, you know, and we swam around. We swam in Lake Garda, I think. Yeah, but, doggone it, I remember that because it was real blue, yeah, it was real clear water, yeah, you can see down. We went swimming over in Lake Garda, and, son of a gun, you can see, [20:00] maybe, 15 feet to, maybe, 20 feet. Yeah, it was clear water. It was---clear water means blue, I think, yeah. It was real pretty, though. Well, doggone it, like I went to swim in Pen Beach after the war, and we had---we were---we didn’t have no swimming suits so we went in shorts, and, heck, it's okay. INTERVIEWER: Were you---after the war ended, were you received well as GIs in Italy? SAKAGAMI: Well, we had to wait, you know, we had to guard the---we had to do something, so we had to guard the prisoners, you know, but, doggone it, it was real good, easy, yeah, it was easy. We just had to do what we had to do, and, doggone it, it was enjoyable, in a way, yeah, enjoyable, in a way. But, doggone it, I remember a couple of Alaskan people that they were . . . I think his name was Takatsuka or something, that was his name. And, doggone it, he went to sleep because he didn’t have nothing to do, so he went to sleep and he got picked up. He spent, I think, three months in detention center, yeah. But, what the heck, that’s a long time ago. [22:00] Yeah, he’s dead now, though. Yeah, Takatsuka. But I met his brother. Yeah, he was in the Baker Company or something like that. And he was one of the, I think, Lyn Crost or something, on the picture, yeah. So he was a celebrity, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Now, how long did you stay before you got to ship back home? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 34 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Well, I stayed one month after the unit left, 4-4-2 left. Yeah, I stayed---maybe I didn’t have points, you know. So, you know, like Hawaiians, they get the points as soon as they come over here. They--because they have more points. So, doggone it, I had to stay. And I think Virgil [indiscernible] was a CO, company commander, and he had his girlfriend. Oh, I didn’t have no girlfriend, but he had a girlfriend. Bert Tanaka, he was a CO for our company, and he’s dead now, but he had a girl from Naples or some part, you know, over there. INTERVIEWER: So then when did you first get enough points to come home? SAKAGAMI: Well, I got on the Wilson Victory, [24:00] and, doggone it, before they left harbor, well, doggone it, there was a lot of ships sunk over in Livor[no], I mean, Leghorn. So, doggone it, they hit one of those, I think. And so we had to get okay at the Rock of Gibraltar, and there was a lot of monkeys on that Rock of Gibraltar, but, doggone it, I remember that. And there was target shooting way up above because I remember that, yeah. I stayed over at the Rock of Gibraltar for overnight because whoever was in charge of the boat, that Wilson Victory that we were on, well, doggone it, they said they wouldn't pass insurance, so, doggone it, they stopped over at Azores and stayed there pretty near one week or so, and, doggone it, I remember people diving after a pineapple, you know, they sell pineapple. And that’s the first pineapple that I ate, yeah. But it was sour. You’re not supposed to eat pineapple without peeling, but, doggone it, I ate it. Jesus God, I got burnt all over [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: [26:00] And then what’s your next memory after that? SAKAGAMI: Well, when I came home to Ogden, Utah, because that’s where my---I went into the Army from, you know, because I got my notice over in Ogden, Utah. And then, Hillcrest Country Club over in Boise, Idaho because I had one month to loaf around, you know, because the, you know, Army didn’t know when I was gonna come in so they give me a notice so I quit my job, and I had one month to fool around so I went to work over in Hillcrest County Club in Boise, Idaho. And that’s where I got inducted. INTERVIEWER: Now what was the trip like, coming back from Italy? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 35 of 44 �Oh, well, [indiscernible] it was nothing to it. Like, Wilson Victory, they got, they hit something on Leghorn, so they stop at Rock of Gibraltar and then they---office give us to okay to come back, so they come back, but, doggone it, they had to stop over at Azores because it start vibrating quite a bit. And, doggone it, we transferred on to Azores, er, McAndrew to Azores and then came home on the [28:00] New York, yeah. BEGINNING OF TAPE FIVE INTERVIEWER: Okay. Now, Mas, tell me and describe for me what your---what the journey back home was like, riding the ship, where you got on, and where you ended up as you came on the ship back home. SAKAGAMI: Wilson Victory is the one I got on and it had trouble so we stopped over at Rock of Gibraltar overnight, and, doggone it, they says, I think, what the heck, some insurance company said okay so we made it back to Azores and we stayed there for about a week before the McAndrew came, and then we transferred to McAndrew and came home, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Where did you port when you got home? [Mr. Sakagami didn't hear the question.] Where did the boat port? Where did you guys get off the boat? SAKAGAMI: Well, it was in New York someplace. And I remember Ellis Island, but, doggone it, I don’t think Ellis Island is where we docked, but, doggone it . . . And from there we went to---I went to Detroit or . . . Detroit, I think. Then I bought a suit over there and then I came home to Auburn. And then there was nothing there, you know, [02:00] just an old shack. And my brother still, my wife's, I mean, my sister-inlaw still lived there, but, doggone it, I came back to Auburn, and, doggone it, there was nothing there so we had outhouses, you know, yet, but, doggone it, there's not no more, yeah, there's an inside flush toilet. But, doggone it, it was that kind of living, yeah. So I’m real tight with my money, yeah, Jesus God, I don’t know how Dr. Harada, you know that was in the 100th, 100th Battalion, he was in Rafu Shimpo or something all the time, and, Jesus God, I remember him because he was in the 100th or something, you know. Yeah, but, oh God, that’s a long time ago. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: What---when you---when the boat came into New York harbor do you remember seeing the Statue of Liberty? This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 36 of 44 �SAKAGAMI: Yeah, I, it’s well done, you know, they greet us with well done, and everybody sees it, but, doggone it, you were---we were pretty good, you know. So we were alive yet so we came there, and now some of our guys are dead already, but, doggone it, at that time, well, it was real good, yeah, to see Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, and then I think I went to Detroit or something and then I bought a suit and I came home and [04:00] I had it altered because it was double breasted. Now it’s single breasted and I don’t wear it no more because I grew it, outgrew it, yeah. INTERVIEWER: When did you meet your wife? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I met her after the war. I met her---she was working at the Mimbu’s office, Frank, er, Tom Mimbu or something. And I met her there and she was single yet so I said I wanted to get married to her. INTERVIEWER: How did you court her? SAKAGAMI: Well, Jesus God, I took her fishing because I like fishing. And, oh, doggone it, oh, that's how I ended up, yeah. I don’t know, I don’t even speak to her no more, yeah. Even coming here this morning? I didn’t speak to her. INTERVIEWER: Do you ever have any nightmares about the war? SAKAGAMI: No, no, I don’t have no nightmares, yeah. It’s over, it’s over. INTERVIEWER: How do you feel you’re different now? How do you feel---do you feel that you’ve changed at all having the war experience? SAKAGAMI: Well, we did our thing and then, doggone it, that’s it, that’s the end of it, yeah, doggone it. We're proud that we're Japanese, but, doggone it, not because [06:00] we're Japanese [or] we were haoles or whatever, but, doggone it, we did what we did and look what happened. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 37 of 44 �INTERVIEWER: Did you run into any discrimination coming home? SAKAGAMI: No, no. Everybody was, you know, GI at that time so, doggone it, most of 'em . . . INTERVIEWER: Where---you said you came home to Auburn and there was nothing there, so what did you do? SAKAGAMI: Well, I worked for Yamasaki one year and then I moved over to Seattle, to Yamasaki, and I worked for him for a couple of years and then I went to work for ?main fish company?. And they're all gone now but they---it was the same old thing. Yeah, you had to keep busy, but, doggone it, at that time I think I made maybe two dollars and a half an hour, something like that, and, doggone it, now it’s maybe $10.00 now or whatever. It's cheap, you know. INTERVIEWER: What did you used to do for them? SAKAGAMI: Hmm? INTERVIEWER: What did you do for them? What kind of work? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I cut fish all day. And I worked through---went through all that earthquake, you know. Yeah, Jesus God, it was to shook like heck, [08:00] but I was working in the fish house, you know. But, what the heck, I like fishing, so I went fishing after the [earthquake] and then laid off, you know. Yeah, because in wintertime they don’t do too much work in the fish house because the weather, you know, they can’t, fishermen can’t get their, whatever they want, yeah. INTERVIEWER: Is that hard work? SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 38 of 44 �Well, it wasn’t hard to me, but it was hard for fishermen, yeah. But, doggone it, they had to make their living so, doggone it, they did all right, I think. INTERVIEWER: What was your next job after that? SAKAGAMI: I went to gardening. And that’s why I took my wife to Hawaii, oh, last four times, yeah, four times. I took her to Hawaii four times. And, what the heck, I’m still kicking so it’s okay. INTERVIEWER: Where did you and your wife get married at? SAKAGAMI: Oh, I got married in Methodist church in Seattle right after the war, 1951, and, doggone it, I remember--I don’t remember the date but I remember getting married to her. INTERVIEWER: When you came back, did you have to go to the relocation camps? Was your wife still in camp? SAKAGAMI: No, no, she was working at Mimbu's office. [10:00] She was a attorney, you know, she's a secretary. So I met her there and we got married. INTERVIEWER: So the camps were all closed by the time . . .? SAKAGAMI: Oh yeah, it was closed, it was closed because it was after the war. Yeah, it was 1951 when I got married. In September, I think it was, or something like that, and, Jesus God, it was good. INTERVIEWER: And so when you started gardening, what was the community like at the time you started gardening? SAKAGAMI: Well, they knew their stuff. I didn’t know my stuff but thank God I was a Japanese so they hired me and I did whatever I did, but I made a lot more than I did at the fish house. Yeah, I think our first year I made This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 39 of 44 �about, when I quit the fish house I then made gross maybe $5,000. Well, got $15,000 for gardening. And that was nothing. Now it’s probably more, but, doggone it, my son took over my job. He graduated from high school, I mean, college, you know, and, son of a gun, he's working for what I did. INTERVIEWER: If through this video you knew that Goseis and Nanaseis were watching this and you could speak to them directly through this video, what would you want to say to them? [12:00] SAKAGAMI: Video? INTERVIEWER: Yeah, if you could speak to the Gosei and Nanasei of the future, what would you want to say to them? SAKAGAMI: Don’t go through war. I don’t want to go through war again. Yeah, doggone it, it’s a heck . . . You don’t know what tomorrow is, yeah. But now I’m satisfied, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What’s the worst part of war [and] why you wouldn’t want to see the future generations of Japanese Americans . . .? SAKAGAMI: Well, Jesus God, I don’t know about the future, but, doggone it, I don’t think they're gonna have another war, anyway. But, doggone it, if they do have it, who knows? I don’t care. INTERVIEWER: What would you say---what would you want the future generations of Japanese Americans to remember about the Nisei veterans? SAKAGAMI: Well, Nisei veteran, they did their stuff, you know. They were American citizens, but, doggone it, they treated us like enemy, you know. So, doggone it, we changed that and everything is good now. Yeah, there's no discrimination, but, doggone it, maybe there is a little bit, but, doggone it, you don’t see it outright, you know. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 40 of 44 �If you could speak to other veterans after now doing this interview, what would you say to them after this experience? SAKAGAMI: I won’t go through again [laughs]. But I met [14:00] Stephanie. Yeah, so it’s a good thing. You Sanseis are real good, yeah. INTERVIEWER: What would you say is important about doing something like you’re doing; you’re volunteering your time here. SAKAGAMI: Well, I didn’t know if I knew that I was gonna get in like this, but, doggone it, maybe I wouldn’t come, but, doggone it, I’m here now so it’s a good thing, it's a good thing. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Is there anything else that you would like to---that maybe I didn’t ask or something I might have missed in your experience? SAKAGAMI: Well, what the heck, you did your stuff and I did my stuff, so that’s good. Because I got to leave some legacy so future people will know, you know, yeah. Jesus God, lot of people don’t know that we were in camp even, yeah. But, what the heck, everything is turning out real good now. Yeah, we're not like Isseis, you know. Isseis, they got kicked around quite a bit, but they can't even own a land. But now we can own a land and you can do anything we want to do if you have a brain, but I don’t have a brain [laughs]. INTERVIEWER: [Addressing the crew.] Do you guys have any questions that I might have missed? [Crew member talks off camera.] Oh yeah. [Back to Mr. Sakagami] As far as your children go, do they know much about your experience and did you . . .? SAKAGAMI: [16:00] No, no, I don’t think they know anything about my experience because I don’t tell 'em, and who cares. Yeah, they don’t go to Nisei vet's office every month. I was helping out every month. Yeah, I'm a sergeant of arms, and, Jesus God, I want to leave something to go by, anyway. And my wife, she cares less. INTERVIEWER: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 41 of 44 �I know you don’t have any grandchildren now, but if you have grandchildren in the future what would you want to tell them? SAKAGAMI: Well, let them take care of themselves. But, doggone it, you know, they didn't have to go through all this, what I went through, you know. But, what the heck, that’s their life. INTERVIEWER: [Addressing the crew.] You guys have anything more? [Back to Mr. Sakagami.] Okay. SAKAGAMI: Okay. INTERVIEWER: Thank you very much. [Interview ends.] SAKAGAMI: [Interview resumes with Mr. Sakagami going over his wartime photos.] They call him Buta [pig], you know. Jesus God, I didn't want to call him Buta, so I let him go at that. I didn't see him since. Maybe he's dead now. But, you know, this is Yuz[uru] Watanabe, is one guy, he's dead now, too. Yeah, his wife is still living. Yeah, John Nakano. Nobu Sakaguchi, he's the Terminal Island boy. He's in Twin Falls, Idaho now, yeah. This Katagiri, he's divorced too. Yeah, there's [indiscernible], Shig Hinatsu, Gresham, Oregon. This is Kishimoto. Yeah, I don't know his name, but, doggone it, I remember this guy. He was a snafu little bit, but, doggone it, he’s okay now. [indiscernible], I call him that, [indiscernible]. Jiggs thought they were close with German, I mean, Swiss soldiers. Yeah, soldiers. I went there twice, you know, [indiscernible] and went to Engelberg in Switzerland in wintertime, yeah. But, you know, what the heck, you know, these maybe they're dead now. This guy I saw him over---he’s from Lodi, California. INTERVIEWER: Oh, yeah. SAKAGAMI: And there's [indiscernible] Chester Fukuhara, and he didn't remember me. Yeah, I went through all that. He had a brother named Norio, but, doggone it, when Jiggs, oh, I don’t know, [20:00] Jiggs, Jiggs is his name. Yeah, this is Tad Hiyoto. By golly, he’s my closest friend. And he went to . . . [Break in filming, This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 42 of 44 �then resumes.} Yeah, Florence they had a---General Mark Clark had a Majestic Hotel, that's Florence, Italy. And, doggone it, they had a place to sleep over there. All you had to do is register, that’s all. INTERVIEWER: Oh. SAKAGAMI: Yeah, you have to have the right credentials, you know, yeah. Roy Enomoto. He's from Ogden, Utah too. Yeah, San Marco Square, yeah. That's in Florence, I mean, Venice, Italy. INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm. SAKAGAMI: Yeah. 4-4-2 was over here. They were---during the war there was a rest area, yeah. But, doggone it, you had to cross the bridge and then we come on this side, then it was all on the---shell, near . . . The kitchen was hit by Germans, I think. Yeah, this is the Gothic Line. CREW MEMBER: Oh, that's the Gothic Line? SAKAGAMI: Yeah, Gothic Line. Yeah, this is where we jumped off. Yeah, we got stuck in someplace in here. [22:00] Yeah, we got stuck here first day. That’s when I got saved, you know. But Able Company were on this slope right here, and they [the Germans] were attacking 100th Battalion. They were supposed to take all this, all this in one day, but, doggone it, we end up stuck over here. So we had to wait till everything cooled off and then we walked all this up to here, the Gothic Line, and then we got up close to here and then a couple of boys, our boys, got shot, you know. Yeah, there's a enemy sniper, you know, German sniper, so we had to shoot at this hill there. I had to shoot at the hill because they thought they were hiding there, but, heck, there was nobody in there. They were all in a cave right here, but, you know, you didn’t know where the Gothic Line is the line, yeah, Gothic Line, yeah. But, you know, this is one year after the war was over, I took this picture because, you know, you didn't have no camera. INTERVIEWER: That's right. SAKAGAMI: This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 43 of 44 �So [indiscernible], I had his Rolleiflex, and, Jesus, I took all these pictures. Because one year after the celebration was---they had to march right over here to Carrara, and [24:00] they had, you know, we had all kinds of time so we march, and then they tell us what to do and so we did what they do, yeah. [Turns to next page in photo album.] And me, yeah. Jinx Falkenburg. USO show. So you get this picture after I’m gone, you know. I’m gonna keep it, you know, to . . . But, you know, like this is Colorado, but I tell you, this is Masao Takahashi from California, Los Angeles. Yeah. Long John Tsukamoto. Well, Jesus God, I don’t know, where the . . . [Mr. Sakagami leafs through his photo album]. Gravel pit that is all gone now. Yeah, he [indiscernible] one to his mother’s and father’s funeral, yeah. And this is Ogden, Utah. Yeah, we climbed up this mountain here, yeah. This was where the, Carrara, and this was the break area. And, you know, you don’t fight all the way through, you know, you get maybe one week or two weeks or something and then you have a rest and then [26:00] you go on the line again. CREW MEMBER: Oh, again. SAKAGAMI: Yeah. But, doggone it, that’s the rest area that . . . And this was still on the sea, you know, so, Jesus God, they used to go up there and there was a road up there, and, son of a gun, B, Baker Company or something, they had ambush a little bit, and, son of a gun, this guy got killed in his hole. I know Raito Nakashima or something was his name, and he’s from Pocatello, Idaho. This transcript is hereby made available for research purposes only by Go For Broke National Education Center. Page 44 of 44 � 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 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 Masao Sakagami oral history interview transcript [full interview], September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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. 44 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 1998-09-21 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Seattle, Washington 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 1998OH0009_T_Sakagami https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/d135c4312f9d47053f46811d8461c110.xml 043f11d3e1b1a1166ecb21de9ad7133b 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/009-Sakagami-Mas-5.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1921 May 5 Location of Birth Auburn, Washington Incarceration Facilities Pinedale Temporary Detention Facility Tule Lake Concentration Camp Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Drafted Nickname Masa Location of Basic Training Camp Blanding, Florida Unit of Service 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (Combined) Campaigns/Battles The Gothic Line Southern France Campaign Champagne Campaign 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, part 5 of 5, September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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 1998OH0009_05_Sakagami Description An account of the resource Sakagami discusses more about his journey back home. He details about how he met his wife and his post-military life. Sakagami also gives a message to future generations. Subject The topic of the resource Industry and employment Social activities Identity and values Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/m4v Extent The size or duration of the resource. 0:26:45 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 September 12 career family fishing homecoming Japanese American photographs post-war Washington https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/61e96e748a09f8652cf73f3f44a80b09.xml 207556ffeb7cf86d2a4b49e818771cdb 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/009-Sakagami-Mas-4.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1921 May 5 Location of Birth Auburn, Washington Incarceration Facilities Pinedale Temporary Detention Facility Tule Lake Concentration Camp Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Drafted Nickname Masa Location of Basic Training Camp Blanding, Florida Unit of Service 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (Combined) Campaigns/Battles The Gothic Line Southern France Campaign Champagne Campaign 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, part 4 of 5, September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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 1998OH0009_04_Sakagami Description An account of the resource Sakagami discusses more about his combat experiences. He details about his time in Italy post-war. Sakagami also discusses his journey home. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--European Theater--"The Gothic Line" World War II--Italy World War II--Military service--Travel, leisure World War II--Military service 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. 0:28:03 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 September 12 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team combat experience Gothic Line Italy leisure post-war https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/9b1b94a40b30e6dad6402c1188b33afe.xml 4d6a046aefcd325d579f6b35e87f5cac 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/009-Sakagami-Mas-3.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1921 May 5 Location of Birth Auburn, Washington Incarceration Facilities Pinedale Temporary Detention Facility Tule Lake Concentration Camp Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Drafted Nickname Masa Location of Basic Training Camp Blanding, Florida Unit of Service 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (Combined) Campaigns/Battles The Gothic Line Southern France Campaign Champagne Campaign 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, part 3 of 5, September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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 1998OH0009_03_Sakagami Description An account of the resource Sakagami discusses his voyage overseas. He details about his experiences at the Gothic Line. Sakagami also discusses about when he first joined up with the 100th Infantry Battalion. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--European Theater--"The Gothic Line" World War II--European Theater--Rhineland Campaign, Maritime Alps,"Champagne Campaign" World War II--Military service--100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) World War II--Military service--442nd Regimental Combat Team 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. 0:28:32 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 September 12 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team Champagne Campaign combat European Theater experience Gothic Line https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/6718be15cf6f6db12d4e224052250e4e.xml 49e15de2ba9fce7b77b91ee1b6d544c6 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/009-Sakagami-Mas-2.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1921 May 5 Location of Birth Auburn, Washington Incarceration Facilities Pinedale Temporary Detention Facility Tule Lake Concentration Camp Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Drafted Nickname Masa Location of Basic Training Camp Blanding, Florida Unit of Service 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (Combined) Campaigns/Battles The Gothic Line Southern France Campaign Champagne Campaign 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, part 2 of 5, September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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 1998OH0009_02_Sakagami Description An account of the resource Sakagami discusses more about his experiences at Pindale, but also his time at Tule Lake. He details about being drafted and basic training. Sakagami also discusses about the period before he was shipped out. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--American Concentration Camps--Tule Lake World War II--Military service--Basic training World War II--Temporary Detention Facilities--Pinedale World War II--Military service--100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) 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. 0:29:41 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 September 12 American Concentration Camps basic training Drafted Pinedale temporary detention center Tule Lake https://ndajams.omeka.net/files/original/7d5fa3166253f7ae1a82cea7fcfe21b3.xml 29e42ca5d4537b66074fe372cd568950 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, September 12, 1998 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. URL https://gfbnec.org/oral_histories/mp4/009-Sakagami-Mas-1.m4v Date of Birth [YYYY-MM-DD] 1921 May 5 Location of Birth Auburn, Washington Incarceration Facilities Pinedale Temporary Detention Facility Tule Lake Concentration Camp War or Conflict World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service Army Entrance into Service Drafted or Volunteered Drafted Nickname Masa Location of Basic Training Camp Blanding, Florida Unit of Service 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team (Combined) Campaigns/Battles The Gothic Line Southern France Campaign Champagne Campaign 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 Masao "Masa" Sakagami oral history interview, part 1 of 5, September 12, 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sakagami, Masao: 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 1998OH0009_01_Sakagami 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. 0:26:48 Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 September 12 Description An account of the resource Sakagami discusses memories from his childhood growing up in Auburn, Washington. He details about the aftermath from Pearl Harbor. Sakagami also discusses about his experiences in the Pindale Temporary Detention Facility. Subject The topic of the resource World War II--Pearl Harbor and aftermath World War II--Temporary Detention Facilities--Pinedale Identity and values--Family aftermath Auburn family Japanese American Pearl Harbor Pinedale temporary detention center Washington