Nobuo Yamashita oral history interview, part 1 of 3, October 6, 2001
Nobuo "Nob" Yamashita is born September 28, 1920, in Los Angeles, CA. Nob and his family worked on the farm before starting a fresh produce business in Bell.
In 1938, Nob graduates high school. When his younger brother Ace graduates high school a few years later, Ace gives Nob a chance for higher education. However, the war starts.
On December 7, Nob hears the news about Pearl Harbor. Nob says the community of Bell treated his family well. They did not experience any discrimination. In May 1942, Nob and his family go to Manzanar.
At Manzanar, Nob works and plays baseball to pass the time. Later he leaves Manzanar briefly to work on a sugar beet farm in Montana. When he returns to Manzanar, he takes a Military Intelligence Service (MIS) exam and passes.
Nob and ten others from Manzanar go to Camp Savage for six months of training. Nob training focuses on conversational Japanese, Japanese military terms, and kanji. After training, Nob goes overseas to New Guinea.
Nob discusses discrimination in the military and the lack of promotions with Japanese Americans. He recalls Ensign Sherman, an advocate for the MIS. Moreover, Nob describes his experiences with Prisoners of War (POWs) in New Guinea and Luzon, and the Philippines.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Yamashita%2C+Nobuo%3A+narrator">Yamashita, Nobuo: narrator</a>
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2001OH0205_01_Yamashita
Tommy Nishioka oral history interview, part 3 of 7, June 21, 2000
Nishioka first discusses the prejudice that he saw when he arrived in Mississippi and the segregation on the buses, which he found deeply unfair. He also talks about the different things he encountered while in basic training, such as snakes, chiggers and ticks, amongst the hot and humid weather. Next, he talks about the training activities they did as they were rushed through, trying to ready them to be replacements overseas. He would train as a first scout, before his sergeant moved him up to a non-commissioned officer position. He also talks about the relationship between the Hawaiian and mainland soldiers and volunteering to be a replacement for the 100th Infantry Battalion. After this, he talks about visiting the American concentration camp in Jerome, Idaho and seeing the limited lives that the incarcerated had.
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2000OH0135_03_Nishioka