Kenichi Watanabe oral history interview, part 1 of 2, October 16, 2010

Watanabe discusses his father's immigration from Japan to the United States and his work at a plantation in Hawaii. He then talks about his mother; discusses attending Japanese language school; discusses Japanese dialects; talks about attending school; playing baseball; and describes living on a plantation and his childhood home. Next, Watanabe discusses pre-war tensions between the United States and Japan; discusses his father's thoughts regarding World War Two; and talks about his experiences after high school working on a defense project and his apprenticeship with the Navy. Watanabe then talks about the attack on Pearl Harbor; his involvement in a memorial for the USS Arizona and USS Missouri; getting drafted and basic training at Schofield Barracks; and getting sent to Fort Snelling for Military Intelligence Service (MIS). Lastly, Watanabe discusses his experiences teaching the Japanese constitution at MIS; his assignment in Japan in the translation section; his assignment interrogating former Japanese soldiers who were POWs in Russia; and discusses his rank.

video/m4v

0:58:31

2010OH1025_01_Watanabe

http://www.goforbroke.org/oral_histories/mp4/1025-Watanabe-Ken-1.m4v

1923 Jul 26

Yes