Shigenobu Tanaka shares his recollections of his parents, his life growing up on the sugar plantations of Hawaii, school, and his job working as the inventory manager at the Pahala Sugar plantation. He recalls being drafted and going through basic…
Uesato discusses his assignment in Burma, where his team would be in charge of opening back up the Burma Road. Next, he would head to China where he would get the rare chance to be around elite military leaders, including Mao Zedong of China and many…
Urata continues his recollection of his time in the Honouliuli Internment Camp in Hawaii as the war went on. He also speaks about how he got involved in Hole Hole Bushi music, which he later became famous for. Next, he goes back to his discussion on…
Muranaka begins the interview discussing his time in occupied Japan, working with Japanese officials to ease communications between the Japanese government and the United States government, which in the end netted him a gift from the Emperor of…
Okusa discusses his position as an interrogator during occupied Japan. During his assignments there, he would interrogate a lot of prisoners of war to obtain as much information as possible to send back to the NYK building in Tokyo. He would end up…
Okusa begins the interview speaking about his time living in Japan as a child. He would attend middle school and high school before going back to the United States. Next, he talks about the end of the war and going to the occupied Japan to begin work…
Gotanda discusses his experiences working as an interpreter in the effort to repatriate Japanese citizens, in China and Taiwan, to Japan after Japan's surrender in World War 2. He shares anecdotes regarding: Taiwan, Shanghai, and being a Japanese…
Kenichi "Ken" Nakagawa shares his family's history, his recollection of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and martial law conditions, particularly for Americans of Japanese descent, on Hawaii after the attack. He also goes into volunteering for the Kiawa…
Iwatake discusses more about his time on Chichijima. He details his life after the war had ended. Iwatake also discusses his time meeting President George H. W. Bush.
During the occupation of Japan, Paul Ichiuji worked for the CIC to gather information. Paul got information from the butokai and couriers. Although Paul’s Japanese was not that proficient, he knew important words to communicate with the butokai.…
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…
Aki continues to talk about his experiences as a prisoner of war while in Japan. Towards the end of the war, he noticed that a lot of weird things were happening with the Japanese Army guards and that the POWs were taken out of work. He overheard…
Sugamura provides some thoughts regarding the war; discusses the Kempeitai (Japanese military); tells a story regarding a friend who was being watched by the Kempeitai; and talks about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She then talks about her father…
Hara discusses about his family and their history. He details about his experiences in Hiroshima and Japanese women. Hara also discusses about his experiences in post-war Japan.
Meyer continues to discuss about his time in Japan. Meyer discusses about his life after leaving the Army. He also details about returning to Japan on several occasions, years later.
Meyer discusses what is was like working with different groups of people. He also details about the time he spent stationed in Japan during the American Occupation. Meyer discusses his awareness of the American Concentration Camps.
Yukihiro discusses about his assignments and experiences with the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC). He explains the success rate of his unit gathering intelligence in post-war Japan. Yukihiro discusses about meeting his wife and post-war employment.
Yokoyama discusses about his experiences in the Philippines. He details about his experiences in post-war Japan. Yokoyama also discusses about his experiences in Manchuria.
Sumida discusses the repatriation of Japanese citizens from Manchuria and his assignment monitoring Japanese repatriates; and talks about receiving a Bronze Star. He then talks about his assignment in Korea, his translation assignment after Korea,…
Otoshi discusses his role during his assignment in Japan interrogating repatriates and families in Maizuru and Hakata. He then discusses the treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs), returning to Hawaii, and attending college. Lastly, Otoshi talks about…
Ikeguchi discusses his experiences during his tour in China; talks about weapons he carried; and discusses the end of the war and returning home to California. He then talks about going back to college to finish his degree; discusses his brother's…
