George Suzuki was born on April 6, 1922, in Astoria, OR. He went to Fort Snelling for Military Intelligence Service Language School. n May 1945, he completed training and was assigned to the Philippines for guard duty. When Japan surrendered in…
Minato discusses basic training and discharge. After his discharge he meets his wife and gets married. They have children and grandchildren. Minato shares his wartime experience. During Japanese Language School he discloses his memorable moments at…
Nagano continues his recollection of his time overseas during the war. He talks about his experience in a shell hole and seeing people fish with concussion grenades. He would be an interrogator of prisoners of war while in New Guinea and was then…
Hamanaka discusses his experiences in Puyallup Temporary Detention Center and Minidoka Concentration Camp. During his time in camp he sees how the family dynamic changes. Hamanaka leaves camp when he goes to basic training. After graduation he goes…
Ko Stanley Sameshima's Army career is full of many contributions and accomplishments. He graduates from Military Intelligence Language School and becomes a linguist during the Occupation of Japan. Ko joins the civil censorship as a First Lieutenant…
In the fall of 1941, before the Pearl Harbor attack, Ko Stanley Sameshima, is a student at Cal Tech University. Ko is doing well in his academic studies and is on the Varsity Cross Country Team. In Ko's spare time, he attends social school functions.…
Tsuneishi continues his recollection of his time working with the War Crimes Investigation Detachment in the Philippines. Next, he talks about members of the Army that ended up marrying local girls and trying to get leave to go to Japan to visit his…
When joining the US Army, Tsuneishi started with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), taking Japanese language classes and becoming an interpreter. Once the training was complete, he was shipped out to the Philippines on a long journey across the…
When Paul Takao Bannai hears the news of Pearl Harbor on December 7, his reaction is to help and defend the United States. Paul's parents support him and encourage him to defend America. By joining the 442nd and serving with the Military…
Tadayoshi Sugiyama arrives in Manila, Philippines, and goes to the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS). He is stationed in Manila for a month. In November, Tadayoshi arrives in Yokohama, Japan.
Kaneshiro begins the interview talking about his whereabouts when Japan surrendered. As he was already on a ship heading to Manila with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), he would go to the Philippines first, then head to Tokyo. Once he…
Uratsu discusses about his early experiences in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He details about his brief experiences in Manila. Uratsu also discusses about his post-war assignment and experiences in Tokyo Japan.
Hitoshi G. Sameshima discusses his training to be an interrogator at Fort Snelling. After completing his training, he goes to Fort Spellman and goes overseas to the Philippines. Hitoshi stays in Manila and Luzon to interview the Prisoners of War for…
At Camp Savage, Masato Eddy Kurushima learns Japanese to be am interpreter. He recalls studying late at night to learn the vocabulary and kanji characters.
Eddy also goes to basic training for eight weeks. His learns infantry training and…
Tommy Mayekawa and his family evacuate to Santa Anita Assembly Center after receiving the evacuation orders. He describes the living conditions and life in the camp. Tommy and his family live in a horse stable, and his parents accepted the situation…
Ishizaki begins the interview with his outlook on the surrender of Japan. As he had previously volunteered for the Army, he was already in Manila, awaiting his shipment to Japan. Once arrived at Atsugi Air Base, he immediately noticed the flat…
Yuki discusses about being sent Manila and his experiences while there. He details about his duties and experiences while in Japan. Yuki also discusses about coming back home and raising a family.
In New Guinea, Nobuo "Nob" Yamashita's assignment is to interrogate Prisoners of War (POWs). He says the POWs are happy someone can speak their native language and be treated decently. The goal of interrogating the POWs is to find out their mission…
Kosobayashi discusses about his family, schooling, and briefly moving to Japan as a child. Kosobayashi details about Pearl Harbor, its aftermath, and his experiences at Tule Lake Concentration Camp. He also discusses about his induction into the…
Teragawa discusses his time overseas in both Manila and Japan, working as an interpreter and translator. Spending over two years in Japan, he was able to do some exploring, including visiting his family, and seeing Mt. Fuji. After his discharge from…
After the forced removal from Los Angeles, Teragawa and family were rounded up and sent to the temporary detention center at the Santa Anita race tracks, where they would live in a horse stall with other families. After a couple of months, they were…
Yoshino begins the interview speaking about the surrender of Japan and a little about his childhood, growing up as a Japanese American. Next, he talks about spending a small amount of time at Tule Lake Concentration Camp and working at farms and on…
Yoshino discusses about going overseas and his experiences in both Manila and Japan. He details being discharged, going to college, and meeting his wife. Yoshino also talks about his life during retirement and the legacy of the Niseis.
Post-war, John Akira Takekawa sat in on the war crime trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The General Yamashita trial was daily and took approximately 30 to 60 days for the hearing. John also attended General Masaharu Homma's trial in Manila.
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Masuoka discusses seeing General MacArthur in Tokyo, talks about rankings within the platoon, and discusses his experiences in San Francisco during his Civil Censorship Detachment (CCD) training. He then talks about traveling to Japan, his…
Masatatsu "Mas" Yonemura discusses the Battle of Solomon Sea and gets promoted to team leader in the translation group. He receives the Bronze Star for his service.
Yonemura is with Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) from October…
Mukai discusses the expatriation process he went through, attending Japanese school, and getting drafted. He then talks about what life was like for Japanese Americans after the start of the war, going to basic training in Hawaii and at Fort…
Ito discusses his family, educational experiences and religion. He details about Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. Ito also discusses about basic training and his experiences working in Manila on the General Yamashita trail.
Theodore "Ted" Yenari discusses his experience at Fort McClellan, Camp Snelling and Turkey tent. He shares funny moments from basic training and Colonel John Aiso who is an influential figure during his training.
Okada discusses his experiences living at Father Flanagan's Boys Town. He also talks about how and why he enlisted in the U.S. military; and his participation in Occupied Japan. He shares anecdotes regarding: social activist Lily Okura, post-war…
Kawaguchi discusses his experiences at Topaz Incarceration Camp in terms of signing a statement to pledge his allegiance against Japan; and provides an explanation of the term "concentration camps" in regards to Japanese incarceration. He also…
Ito discusses the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and the pressures of war hysteria. It was during this time that he was drafted into the Army and selected for Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He was sent to Fort Snelling to take Japanese language…
Umeda continues to talk about his language training at Fort Snelling with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), talking about the living conditions of the barracks and being classified as a translator. After this, he would be sent overseas, first…
Hashisaka talks about his assignment in the Philippines with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, capturing documents and translating them. He talks about one of the diaries that he has and the contents of it. He also talks about the…
Yukimura discusses about his duties in Australia, New Guinea, and Manila. He details about his experiences in Japan during the Allied Occupation of Japan. Yukimura also discusses about being present for the Official Surrender of Japan on the USS…
Hayashi continues his recollection of interpreting assignments in Manila, working at the War Crimes Trials. After this, he was discharged from the Army so that he could continue his college education, but decided to travel the East Coast first. He…
Hayashi begins the interview speaking about his family background, being born in Denver and what it was like to grow up there. As a child, he would have the chance to live in Japan and would do so for two years, learning all about the Japanese…
Ota discusses his family’s work on Driscoll Farms, life after Executive Order 9066, and his family’s forced removal to Salinas temporary detention facility. He then talks about life at Poston incarceration camp, discusses getting drafted and going to…
Kishi discusses about his experiences at Merced Temporary Detention Center. He details about his experiences at Granada (Amache) Concentration Camp. Kishi also discusses about joining the Army, going to the Military Intelligence Service Language…
In this video clip, Kazuo Yamaguchi talks about his experience in Manila, where he oversaw a Japanese prisoner of war camp. His job was to repatriate the Japanese POWs. He was later sent to the Occupation of Japan in Tokyo. He describes the image of…
Fujimori discusses his military experience in the Philippines. He describes what his job entailed as a Military Intelligence Service interrogator. At the end of this part he begins describing his participation in the occupation of Japan after the war…
