Kiyoji "Jonah" Morimoto discusses the lessons learned from the Luciano campaign. His company learns how to attack in combat and the amount of fire power to use against the enemies to scare them. He recalls the supply line being well supplied because…
Kiyoji "Jonah" Morimoto discusses he would not do anything different in his battle field experiences. He got along well with the other officers and his rank during the war is Tech Sargent. In his company, the Platoon Sargent gets injured and…
Kiyoji "Jonah" Morimoto discusses the difficulties to transition civilian life and takes two years to find himself on the mainland. Morimoto decides to return home when his financials are running low after traveling to various cities such as Chicago,…
Mukai discusses what activities that served as childhood entertainment. Mukai details about fishing as a child. Mukai also discusses his experiences with education.
Mukai discusses his family and what it was like growing up in Hakalau. He also details about the food he ate and the values he was taught while growing up. Mukai discusses the impact that playing sports had on his life. He relates a story of his…
Mukai discusses traveling to Camp Shelby and being assigned to the 232nd Combat Engineer Company. He details he experiences from basic training. Mukai also discusses about some of the fun the regiment had.
Mukai discusses traveling in Mississippi and witnessing discrimination first hand. He also details what is was like visiting Jerome Concentration Camp. He also discusses the voyage overseas and arriving in Italy.
Mukai discusses the general duties for the 232nd Combat Engineer Company. He discusses the importance of teamwork and dealing with the rigors of war. He also details about the lighter side of war.
Mukai discusses the incident in which he was wounded. He details the relationship he had between his mother and father. Mukai also discusses the rehabilitation process.
Mukai discusses his life after leaving the service, detailing how he met his wife and his career. He details the organizations that he is a member of. He also discusses he love for golf and gives some words of wisdom for future generations.
Don Miyada is born on May 21, 1925, in Oceanside, California. Don's parents are Raiju Miyada and Masu Miyada, who both emigrated to the United States from Japan. Don shares his childhood memories working on the farm, school, holiday, and morals and…
After Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 is issued and calls for the evacuations of Japanese Americans. Don describes the preparation his family makes before going to Poston, Arizona. At Poston, Don outlines life at camp and the living conditions of…
After completing basic training at Camp Blanding and Camp Shelby, Don goes overseas on the Queen Mary. Don describes traveling in France to join the 100th and 442nd at the holding line.
Don is in holding a position in France for four months. This…
Don discusses his last duties towards the end of the war are marching and holding positions. Don mentions the dangers of minefields and German Schu-mines. Two weeks after the Gothic Line breaks, he recalls encountering friendly fire and witnessing…
Takemoto talks about his experience being recognized in the Hawaii Army Museum's Gallery of Heroes, as a result of being a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross. He also shares some recollections from the front line of combat as a platoon…
Takemoto discusses what his life like after his military service. He also reflects on the value of his military service and how that impacts future generations of the Japanese American, and broader American, communities at large. Takemoto also…
Taketa discusses about his family and growing up on Kailua-Kona. He details about his schooling and childhood. Taketa also discusses about religion and vales taught.
Taketa discusses about life after high school and living in Hilo, Hawaii. He details Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. Taketa also discusses about his ship getting hit by a torpedo.
Taketa discusses about becoming a medic and his experiences as a medic. He details about his experiences at Camp Shelby and Camp McCoy. Taketa also discusses about Hawaii, family, and the treatment of Japanese Americans.
Taketa discusses about being a medic and the meals they ate. He details about getting wounded and recovery process. Taketa also discusses playing golf and his post-war life.
Taketa discusses about the wars end, veterans, and reunions. He details about his family and living in Hilo, Hawaii. Taketa reflects on his military service and gives a message to future generations.
Ethel Uchida describes her childhood and memories of her family including the values her father instilled in her. She also describes her childhood wish to study in Japan and her subsequent employment there during the occupation.
Ethel Uchida describes her living conditions in Japan and her work as a pictorial censor with Japanese nationals. She also describes getting married and starting a family while still in Japan.
Miyamoto discusses growing up in Hawaii; talks about his father and his occupation on a plantation; discusses his mother; and talks about attending Japanese language school. He then talks about attending high school and his participation in the…
Miyamoto talks about his siblings, living in a boarding house after high school, and his job as a foreman at an experiment station. He then talks about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath including blackout restrictions, and his experiences…
Miyamoto talks about his medics training, his experiences going to Hattiesburg, and his relationship with Mainland soldiers. He then talks about going to Missouri for training at a hospital; traveling overseas; describes what he carried as a medic;…
Miyamoto discusses interactions he had with wounded soldiers at Hill 140 while on medic duty; discusses transporting and treating wounded soldiers; and talks about combat experiences after Hill 140. He then talks about casualties; getting wounded and…
Miyamoto describes the term, “million dollar wound”; talks about treating civilians in Bruyeres and treating wounded Germans; and his experiences in forests in France. He then provides some thoughts about the Lost Battalion rescue; discusses medical…
Miyamoto talks about earning a Bronze Star, Silver Star, and Combat Infantryman Badge. He then talks about his post-war experiences in Italy, traveling home to Hawaii, getting discharged, and bringing home wartime souvenirs. Lastly, Miyamoto talks…
Miyamoto talks about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team 50th reunion G Company reception; and shares some thoughts regarding the 442nd. He then provides a message to future generations regarding education and ethics; and talks about childhood values he…
Kondo discusses growing up in Hawaii with a Nisei mother and Issei Father. He talks about his parents' jobs and how as a youth he worked with them; and started procuring his own jobs. He also shares his recollections of the Pearl Harbor attack and…
Kondo discusses his military experience before embarking to Europe. He talks about traveling to the Mainland for the first time; and shares his impressions and experiences at Camp Shelby. He provides anecdotes regarding: going out on pass at; loaning…
Kondo discusses his experience in the European Theater of World War 2. He describes what crossing the Atlantic was like, and later what hiking the mountains in Europe was like. He describes his first two battle experiences. He also shares anecdotes…
Kondo discusses in detail his participation in the Rome-Arno and Bruyere-Biffontaine Campaigns. He talks about some of the military tactics his outfit executed. He also talks about how he got injured and provides some details about his recovery…
Kondo talks about his recuperation from his injury. He describes the challenges he faced being in a body cast, and the different hospitals he went to. He also discusses his experiences being sent to the United States for medical care and his receipt…
Kondo talks about how he adjusted to civilian life after the military. He talks about the family he established and the family values he learned from his parents. He also talks about his feelings regarding the legacy of the 442nd Combat Regiment and…
Sumio Frank Shimada was born on April 21, 1918, in Vacaville, CA. Later his family moved to Cordelia and then San Jose. Frank revisited Vacaville last year for a reunion. He described the changes in the town since his childhood.
After Executive Order 9066, Sumio Frank Shimada was forcibly removed to Santa Anita Assembly Center. Frank describes the living conditions and life at the Assembly Center. He found a job in camp making camouflage nets.
Sumio Frank Shimada shares his experience with the Hawaiian soldiers at Camp Shelby. Frank had a good experience with them and learned how to speak pidgin.
At Camp Shelby, the summer was hot, and the winter was cold. The winter was chiller,…
Sumio Frank Shimada recalls being under artillery fire from the German soldiers in Italy several times. Frank said the German 88 was a scary weapon. Besides the German 88, the Germans also used bouncing betty and minefields as their defensive assets.…
Sumio Frank Shimada was in the Regimental Reserves and carried the BAR. He recalls moving up to the combat zone, and on the side of the road, he saw blanket-covered bodies. Frank could not help but wonder who they were and who they left behind. Those…
Oda discusses growing up in Portland, Oregon circa 1920-1940. He shares memories from youth and adolescence. Oda also talks about how his parents settled in Portland and his father's business dealings.
Oda discusses his experiences in World War II with an emphasis on the many military camps he was stationed at, and his experience receiving a field commission. In addition he talks about what his life was like just prior to U.S. participation in the…
Charles "Charley" Toyoji Ijima is born on January 8, 1925, in Makaweli, Kauai, Hawaii. His family lives on a sugar cane plantation. His parents are from Niigata Prefecture of Japan. Charley's father, Shozo Ijima, comes to Hawaii by himself first.…
Charles “Charley” Touoji Ijima goes to Schofield Barracks before going to the mainlands. He receives his basic training at Camp Shelby. He learns how to build different types of bridges and lay mines. At Camp Shelby, Charley describes his first time…
Charley learns about the different mines at Camp Shelby. He contributes the veteran outfits for helping his company with learning about other German mines. There are different German-made mines such as the bouncing betty, schu-mines, and teller…
Charley discusses the opportunity to visits, Jerome and Rohwer. When traveling to New York after the war, he meets a mutual friend of Eva's who he corresponds with during wartime. During wartime, he describes how the soldiers' shower on the…
Oda discusses how she met her husband and her marriage plans. When trying to get married, the Oda’s initially experienced discrimination due to their race, but eventaully got married at a YMCA. She then talks about her whereabouts during the attack…
Oda discusses her experiences traveling to Hattiesburg and her experiences once there. She then talks about men at Minidoka Incarceration Camp volunteering for the Army, correspondence with her mother while she was incarcerated at Minidoka; and…
Oda discusses learning about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War Two; and recalls President Roosevelt's speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor and his death. She then talks about the differences between Hawaiian and…
Janet Nakakihara and Janice Yokoyama Trubitt are nieces of Private First Class Sadao S. Munemori, the Medal of Honor recipient. Janet's mother, Yuriko (oldest), and Janice's mother, Kikuyo (youngest), are siblings of Sadao.
