Harold Okumura oral history interview, part 1 of 2, February 27, 2011

Files

Dublin Core

Description

Okumura begins the interview talking about his whereabouts when the war ended and Japan surrendered and his thoughts on the atomic bomb. At the time, he was already in the Army and had gone through his training, so he was sent overseas to begin his work in occupied Japan. He would stop off at a few islands before getting to Okinawa, helping to talk with Japanese civilians that were hiding out in caves. Next, he talks about how he came to learn Japanese as a sansei. After this, he talks more about his time in Japan, including the reconstruction and talking with Japanese civilians to understand their lives better. Okumura also discusses the harsh living conditions that the American soldiers dealt with in Okinawa, sleeping in a tent that would get soaked during the typhoons. He would spend more time in Okinawa, interpreting and helping when needed with the reconstruction, before getting discharged and heading back to the mainland. He would end up Hawaii and start a family, which now includes 10 grandchildren.

Format

video/m4v

Extent

0:54:48

Language

Spatial Coverage

Identifier

2011OH1036_01_Okumura

Oral History Item Type Metadata

URL

http://www.goforbroke.org/oral_histories/mp4/1036-Okamura-Harold-1.m4v

Date of Birth

1923 Sep 01

Location of Birth

War or Conflict

Branch of Service

Entrance into Service

Location of Basic Training

Index

Yes

Citation

Okumura, Harold: narrator et al., “Harold Okumura oral history interview, part 1 of 2, February 27, 2011,” Japanese American Military History Collective, accessed March 29, 2024, https://ndajams.omeka.net/items/show/1052537.