| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Series I: Formerly Incarcerated People
(continued) |
|
Alfred T. Nitta Collection
(continued) |
|
BOX CD/DVD-177 |
Video Interview with Alfred T. Nitta, February 17, 2010
|
|
39 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: Early life and family; boyhood working on farm
with siblings; enlisted while incarcerated at Minidoka Relocation Center,
Idaho; service due to father's accident; basic training in Florida;
emergency furlough; basic training again; after V-E Day; Camp Ritchie,
Maryland; Japanese soldiers with weapons for troops on way to Pacific
Theater; after V-J Day to Italy; Naples to Pisa; guard duty; public profile;
members of 442nd Regimental Combat Team; treated well by Italians; lots of
passes and no KP; German prisoners of war (POW) worked for United States
Army; from Pisa with integrated unit; traveled all over Italy; citations;
the usual but no combat; after 13 months in Italy spent 13 months in the
United States; Camp Beale, California for discharge in 1946; not much
communication; retired to farm; GI Bill; bought ranch from father with loan;
own family with five children; military today does a good job; would do
service again if asked; glad to be in 442nd Regimental Combat Team and
honored everyone; gave money to National World War II Museum; name is on
museum's wall; being asked by Army to play enemy soldier which was the worst
experience in service. |
|
|
George Okamoto Collection
|
|
Collection ID: AFC2001/001/85765 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Okamoto was incarcerated at Poston Relocation Center, Arizona, with his family
as a teenager, but was released when he secured a job as an illustrator in
Chicago, Illinois. In 1944, he decided to join the military. After being
rejected by the Marine Corps and the Navy, he enlisted in the United States
Army and served with Company I, 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy. He was
severely wounded during combat operations in Northern Italy. Following his
recovery, he was discharged and returned to Chicago to work as an artist and
illustrator. |
|
BOX AC-657 |
Audio Interview with George Okamoto, January 10, 2007
|
|
SR01: Topics covered include: Life in Poston Relocation Center, Arizona;
brother drafted; enlisting to be with brother; Japanese Americans only
allowed in Army and not other branches; digging fox hole; getting shot by
Germans; one year in hospital; V-mail sent to parents. |
|
BOX CDDVD-288 |
Without Due Process: Japanese Americans and
World War II, 1992
|
|
44 minutes |
|
MV01: Documentary about Japanese detention centers in the United States
including interviews with the Okamoto, family members and others. |
|
BOX-FOLDER MSS-02316/1 |
Military papers, July 26, 1946
|
|
1 folder |
|
MV01: Okamoto's discharge paperwork (07/26/1946). |
|
BOX-FOLDER MSS-02316/2 |
Printed Matter, 2001
|
|
1 folder |
|
MS02: Cover submitted with documentary film MV01 (2001). |
|
|
Toshikazu Okamoto collection
|
|
Collection ID: 106737 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Okamoto was incarcerated at Pinedale Assembly Center, California and Tule Lake
Relocation Center, California. He was also briefly transferred to Heart
Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming. He was drafted into the United States Army
in 1944, and served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy. Following
his discharge, he worked as a mechanic in the motor pool for the Seattle Fire
Department. |
|
BOX CDDVD-494 |
Video Interview with Toshikazu Okamoto, August 31, 2016
|
|
20 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: biographical information; detention detention
centers; drafted into Army; heavy duty mechanic, tanks, DUKW; unit forms,
training in California; put with other Japanese soldiers, go to Italy;
replacements for 442nd Regimental Combat Team; attached to the 88th Infantry
Division 08/1944 to 09/1945; after war, visiting veterans; language problem,
barrier at hospital; founding of Keiro nursing home; end of career,
retirement; legacy, children. |
|
|
William Hisao Omoto Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 65384 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Omoto was incarcerated at Salinas Assembly Center, California, and Poston
Relocation Center, Arizona, before being drafted into the United States Army.
He served with the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, in France and
Italy. |
|
BOX CD/DVD-137 |
Audio Interview with William Hisao Omoto,
July 26, 2007
|
|
56 minutes |
|
SR01: Topics covered include: birth in Los Gatos, California, moving to
Monterey, California, growing-up pleasant; how Monterey changed, more small
town than now, walking to get places; parents, father moved to Monterey to
work for Owl Cleaners, owned by friend, good with tools; after Pearl Harbor
family moved to Gonzalez, sent to Salinas Assembly Center, California; train
to Poston Relocation Center, Arizona; graduated from high school in
detention center; enlistment in Army; living at camp being harder on parents
than younger generation, participating in athletics, layout of camp; loyalty
questionnaire received in detention center, asked if he pledged allegiance
to the United States, if he would enlist in military, a few people replied
no and were sent to federal prison; basic training; protest, anti-Japanese
sentiment, Monterey close-knit community; when camp closed Monterey Herald
published advertisement welcoming Japanese American citizens; Monterey
Savings and Loan took care of house so still owned property; pay for work at
camp, many families lost homes; when Pearl Harbor attacked, watching movie
with brother, movie interrupted and soldiers told to report to base, parents
worried, some families burning everything they owned with Japanese writing
on it; government confiscated cameras, father collected old cameras, were
returned after war; served in 442nd Regimental Combat Team, after basic
training in Florida, visited family, some Japanese went into military
intelligence; train back home, stopped in south, experiencing racial
segregation, confusion over what bathroom to use; treated with respect while
serving in Army, invited to sit in first class seating, preferential dining
service on train; joining 100th Battalion, hearing about rescue of Lost
Battalion in France, about 800 casualties, knew replacements were to be
needed, serving on border between Italy and France; making friends with
other Japanese Americans from Monterey area; work consisted of going on
patrol in region, unit pulled out, sent to Italy, diversionary operation,
supposed to trick Germans thinking it was full attack, was expected to just
hold Germans but overran them to Lake Pomo, elite German troops left; what
it was like going to war, aloof about participation in Europe, everyone
thought Germany would be defeated, men of 442nd Regimental Combat Team
worried they would not be sent to Pacific because of ancestry; when one
patrol helping to carry ammunition for machine gun, sniper shot at them,
bullet hitting his rifle, had to find another gun, finding a Thompson
machine gun; named squad leader, leading men down vineyard to village,
Germans firing on them, using vineyard as cover, Thompson gun had bad range,
had to find new gun; man shot in stomach by sniper, died, from Monterey,
friendly fire; in constant combat, not considered the worst, too young to be
affected; not treated differently than white soldiers, the white soldiers
often stuck up for them, when discharged in Chicago, Army members would buy
them drinks; VE-Day, sent on time killing tasks, sightseeing, guarding
prisoner of war (POW) camp, mostly old men; receiving medals, some upgraded
by government years later; life after war, discharge, time in Chicago,
moving to Monterey, fixing family home for father and brother, GI Bill for
college at Hartnell, time working for bank, plumbing company, for county of
Monterey, real estate appraiser, retirement; proud of service, friends who
died from basic training by 88 millimeter shell, family proud of service,
brother sending newspaper clippings about 442nd Regimental Combat Team. |
|
BOX-FOLDER MSS-1885/1 |
Photograph, July 26, 2007
|
|
1 folder |
|
PH01: A contemporary photograph of Omoto sitting in his home, Monterey,
California (7/26/2007). |
|
BOX CD/DVD-137 |
Computer file, July 26, 2007
|
|
1 CD |
|
CF01: A CD-R containing audio recording (SR01) in MP3 format and photograph
(PH01) in JPEG format. |
|
|
Peter K. Ota Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 77134 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Ota was incarcerated at Santa Anita Assembly Center (Santa Anita Racetrack),
California and Granada Relocation Center, Colorado (a.k.a. "Amache"), until he
was drafted into the United States Army in 1944. He served with the 9206th
Technical Service Unit in Kentucky and California as a Japanese interpreter for
prisoners of war. |
|
BOX CD/DVD-222 |
Video Interview with Peter K. Ota, February 17, 2011
|
|
52 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: introduction; growing up in Los Angeles, mix
of nationalities; parents born in Japan immigrated to United States in early
1900s; father in agriculture started own business; younger sister; Japanese
incarceration; father, who was member of Chamber of Commerce, picked up by
FBI, the family did not know where he was for two months; family sent to
Santa Anita Assembly Center, father stayed in jail; detailed background on
family being separated during incarceration; Granada Relocation Center,
Colorado (a.k.a. "Amache"); attended school in the detention center; drafted
1944; segregated boot camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky; military did not know
what to do with them; sent to Fort Meade, Maryland then orders overseas to
Europe; end of war in Europe; sent to Angel Island, California; interpreter
for Prisoners of War (POWs), Imperial Marines die-hards from Guadalcanal and
Saipan, didn't believe war was over, included civilian soldiers and
teenagers aged 14-16 from Okinawa; the teenagers wanted to stay in America,
nothing left in Okinawa, they were kept separate from Marines; recreation,
off base to visit friends in Oakland and San Francisco, California; wrote
letters; moved to Los Angeles, California, after service father and sister
already there; school on GI Bill, Accountant; met with friends from
detention center, Joe Guerra, from elementary school; treatment by others,
racism; spoke during government hearings on treatment of Japanese. |
|
|
William T. Oune collection
|
|
Collection ID: 98428 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Oune was incarcerated at San Joaquin County Fairgrounds (Stockton, California)
and Rohwer Relocation Center, Arkansas. Following World War II, he and his
family moved to Japan, where he lived until 1950. After moving back to the
United States, Oune studied English and worked on farms. He was drafted into
the United States Army in 1952, and served as a translator in Japan and
Korea. |
|
BOX CDDVD-398 |
Video Interview with William T. Oune, January 14, 2015
|
|
90 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: Early life in Lodi, California; grandparents
immigrated through Hawaii (Kauai Island) in early 1900s, worked on a
sugarcane farm, returned to Hiroshima, Japan; mother and father both born on
Kauai; parents were American citizens, grandparents weren't; in 1931,
parents wed in Japan then went to Hawaii; father's older brother was in
Lodi; parents moved to California, worked in vineyards and fruit farms;
childhood recollections; mother used box for makeshift crib while she picked
grapes; went to Hamilton Elementary, then Buchanan Grammar School; at
Buchanan when war started; spoke Japanese and English; parents' names;
eldest of four siblings; got notice to assemble in 1942; some belongings,
left furniture, cars; after Pearl Harbor, Oune suddenly became 'enemy' at
school; peers were no longer friendly; harassment got worse; stopped
attending school; aunt from Los Angeles came to stay in Lodi; parents were
disappointed and angry; parents' attitudes about Pearl Harbor; grandparents
in Japan had to surrender metal religious objects to government; living
conditions for relatives in Japan during the war; parents kept working;
farmer friend stored parents' belongings when they were incarcerated;
assembled at Stockton horse racing track (Stockton Assembly Center); some
people had to live in horse stalls; Oune and family lived next to aunt;
waited for camps to be built; took train to Arkansas (Rohwer Relocation
Center); swampy place; catching crayfish in flooded ditches at camp;
attended third grade at camp; loyalty questionnaire; father was so angry
about forced reomoval he signed "No-No", sent to Tule Lake Relocation
Center, California; Tule Lake formerly incarcerated people made snail shell
necklaces; father would harvest cypress cones in Rohwer for decorations;
father excavated arrowheads at Tule Lake; farmland outside Rohwer; too
isolated to try to escape; incident where guard shot an unjustly removed
person, riot followed; tank came through camp as scare tactic; after war
ended, family went to Japan in 1946; friend's recollections of Hiroshima
bombing, black rain falling, people burned; grandparents protected by a
mountain; injured Japanese had to go through grandparents' village to
escape, impromptu nursing station set up for victims; cousin was in
Hiroshima at the time of the bombing, was protected by a wall falling on
her, had radiation cancer years later; impact of radiation on survivors of
the Hiroshima bombing; family lived on grandparents' farm; father had a
short-wave radio they smuggled into the detention center; heard news on the
radio, like Emperor's surrender; discussion in the camp about why the war
had even happened; rationing after war; ten people had to share a 100-pound
bale of rice; made rice into gruel, add whatever vegetables handy; picked
matsutake mushrooms; made compost; visited Hiroshima (city) unaware of
radiation risks; desolation, ruins of city; went to see Atomic Bomb Dome; 13
years old when went to Japan, stayed till 18; grandfather said farm boys
didn't need education; father was angry, said to study in America; parents
wanted to return; Oune returned to United States in 1950; went to Lodi with
relative; picked cherries, grapes; went to San Francisco to study English;
started high school (freshman year) in 1951; picked pears in summer of 1952;
got drafted into the Army that summer (age 20); no animosity from white
people; parents' decisions re: staying in United States versus going to
Japan; free boat ride to Japan; father and siblings returned to United
States later; basic training at Fort Ord (infantry); sent to Japan, near
Tokyo; ordered to Chiba for Korean language school; assigned to 23rd
Company, Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as replacement for translator;
sent to Korea; able to visit parents in Hiroshima; grandparents passed away
during service; after Korean War ended, wanted to be a mechanic; used GI
Bill to go to Northrop (mechanic school); caught Asian flu/pneumonia six
months in; spent all money on medical care; had to work instead of go to
school; mother stayed in Japan; after flu, worked in Japanese hardware store
in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles for 12 years; bought a house in Fountain
Valley; became a gardener, tree-trimmer; met wife through friend; dance
group; first date; [wife joins interview]; wife's experiences in America;
meeting each other in 1958; married in 1960; first child in 1962; childrens
first visit to Japan; children and their occupations; family life;
retirement; reflections on American attitudes and Muslim people; desire for
global harmony. |
|
|
Hank Oyama collection
|
|
Collection ID: 82752 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Oyama was incarcerated at Poston Relocation Center, Arizona, as a teenager. In
1945, he was drafted into the United States Army and received orders to serve
as an interpreter in the Pacific. However, he did not speak Japanese, but spoke
Spanish as a first language.(His mother, Mary Matsushima, was raised in Mexico
and spoke primarily Spanish.) He was reassigned to a counterintelligence unit
and deployed to the Panama Canal Zone as a Spanish translator. Following his
release from active duty, Oyama earned degrees in education, pursued a career
as an educator, and was an advocate for bilingual education. In addition to his
career in education, he also served as an officer in the United States Air
Force Reserve until 1982. |
|
BOX CDDVD-260 |
Video Interview with Hank Oyama, November 20, 2011
|
|
77 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: born in Tucson, Arizona; grew up in
Mexican-American neighborhoods; mother grew up in Mexico; father died before
Oyama was born; didn't speak Japanese but spoke Spanish and English; sent to
Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) to be interpreter in
South Pacific; switched to counterintelligence because didn't actually speak
Japanese; became counterintelligence agent in Central America in Canal Zone;
education; buddies in Tucson asked him for help getting into LULAC, League
of United Latin American Citizens; 15 when family was incarcerated;
incarcerated for a year and two months; Del Webb's detention centers in
Arizona; sent to Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona, which was on
reservation land; sent to Phoenix by Greyhound then to Mayer finally to
Poston; sandy jellybeans for dinner; mattresses filled with grass; housed in
barracks; wire to form rooms; could not finish high school; signed up to
cook at camp to secure food for family; schooling at the camp; activities
and entertainment at the camp; jitterbug; needed a waiver to enlist, parents
wouldn't sign; young men drafted from camps; friend refused service by
barber because he was Japanese American; life at camp; nothing compared to
European concentration camps; drafted at 18; no experiences of
discrimination; basic training in Fort Hood, Texas; six or seven people
including Oyama put in remedial Japanese; snow; USO shows;
counterintelligence training in Baltimore; loyalty checks; had to do some
surveillance, protect high ranking officers; given car and apartment; became
an officer through ROTC; after the war ended, enrolled at University of
Arizona; GI Bill; veterans' advisor Dave Windsor; easy English class;
influence of mother, late wife, and present wife; childhood in Tucson; knew
Linda Ronstadt and her father; 442nd Regimental Combat Team were highly
decorated; Oyama was not in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team; advanced
military in ROTC; when camp closed, ordered to report to Greyhound bus
station and travel to Phoenix; bachelor's, Master's, honorary doctorate of
laws from the University of Arizona; WWII helped the average American; gain
wisdom in the service; GI Bill and middle class; worked at Safford Junior
High School; went into Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) after time in
Panama; Lieutenant Colonel in First Wartime Information Squadron detachment;
one small unit per port of entry, including Tucson; inspection procedures;
experiences as agent; inactive Air Force Reserve after University of
Arizona; teaching at the same time; career as an educator; bilingual
education; relationship to Mexican American community; racial and ethnic
diversity in Tucson and elsewhere; reflections on military service and
subsequent career; importance of education and Veterans History Project. |
|
BOX-FOLDER MSS-2249/1 |
Biography, 2011
|
|
1 folder |
|
MS01: A summary of Oyama's incarceration, service in the Army as a Spanish
translator, and service in the Air Force as a reserve officer. |
|
|
Roy M. Oyama collection
|
|
Collection ID: 19609 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Oyama was incarcerated at the Pinedale Assembly Center, California; Tule Lake
Relocation Center, California; and Minidoka Relocation Center, Idaho. During
his incarceration, he was permitted to leave the camps to work on local farms.
In April 1945, he was inducted into the United States Army, and after training
at Camp Wolters, Texas, he served with the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry
Division in Germany. Following his discharge, Oyama studied auto mechanics and
bookkeeping, and eventually began a career with the United States Postal
Service. |
|
BOX CDDVD-14 |
Video Interview with Roy M. Oyama, December 2, 2003
|
|
68 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics include: grew up on a farm in Auburn, Washington; two brothers
and one sister; graduated from Auburn High School in 1941; participating in
judo tournaments; not knowing what to do after school; on the day of the
Pearl Harbor attack he heard the news on the radio and was shocked;
receiving correspondence in their town from the “Western Defense Command and
Fourth Army Wartime Civil Control Administration” regarding instructions for
those with Japanese ancestry; feeling humiliated by being classified as an
enemy alien (4-C) by the government; brother drafted into the Army in 1941;
family evacuated and traveled by train for three days and nights to Pinedale
Assembly Center, California, on May 10, 1942; relocating to Tule Lake
Relocation Center, California, and then Minidoka Relocation Camp, Idaho; no
guarantee that their belongings would be returned to them after the war;
stuffing bags with straw to serve as their mattress; sinking into the
asphalt while sleeping through the night; having to use community toilets;
families were able to stay together while incarcerated; parents proud of
brother’s service regardless of anti-Japanese sentiment during that time;
drafted in April 1945 and classification changing to eligible for military
service (1-A); Japanese housed at Tule Lake camp, became primary facility
for Japanese that answered No and No to questions 27 and 28 of loyalty
questionnaire; met wife Nori at Minidoka camp; wrote to his brother about
volunteering for military service, leaving it up to the government on
whether to serve in the Army or not; physical conducted in December of 1944;
playing pinochle; writing to the General Services Administration requesting
documents regarding time spent at detention centers upon approval of H.R.
442 in 1988; jeep patrols conducted at camp, not feeling any negative
feelings from soldiers; Japanese Americans were extremely important in sugar
beet harvesting; parents' bank account was put into older brother’s name
during stay at detention centers; mother packed many of their personal
belongings before moving to camp; radios while in camp; wanted to join the
442nd Regimental Combat Team but not able to; proud to serve in the Army;
VE-Day; training at Camp Wolters, Texas; mother was living in Ogden, Utah
when Oyama received word that her appendix had ruptured, he traveled back
home and stayed with his mother for about a month; VJ-Day; going to Germany
for Occupation duty; having conversation with Caucasian soldier about
joining the Army despite anti-Japanese environment; government gave Japanese
people who were forcibly removed from their homes $25 (only if family had
less than $500 in savings) to relocate their families after ceasing
detention centers; churches in Seattle, Washington, opened their doors for
formerly incarcerated people that had no place to go; soldiers from the
Minidoka Relocation Center suffered the most casualties and two Medal of
Honor recipients (James K. Okubo and William Nakamura); returned to Idaho
after tour in Germany; worked for the United States Post Office for 30
years; three sons, living with second son; not traveling back to Japan;
mother was a “picture bride”; received letter from President George H. W.
Bush apologizing for injustice of Japanese detention centers during World
War II. |
|
|
Sam S. Ozaki Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 75775 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Ozaki was incarcerated at Santa Anita Assembly Center (Santa Anita Racetrack),
California, and Jerome Relocation Center, Arkansas, before enlisting in the
United States Army in 1944. He served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in
Italy and France. |
|
BOX CD/DVD-210 |
Audio Interview with Sam S. Ozaki, September 19, 2009
|
|
67 minutes |
|
SR01-SR02: Topics covered include: initial reaction to the bombing of Pearl
Harbor; sent to Santa Anita Assembly Center (Santa Anita Racetrack),
California, and then to Jerome Relocation Camp, Arkansas; thoughts on
incarceration; loyalty questionnaire; reasons for enlisting; facing
prejudice at Camp Shelby, Mississippi; BAR Man (Browning Automatic Rifle) in
his platoon; serving with Daniel Inouye; experience with the Lost Battalion;
keeping in touch with family; emotions experienced during battle;
entertainment; brother, Yoji, also served with the 442nd Regimental Combat
Team; recollections of high school friends in the 442nd Regimental Combat
Team; career in education; incarcerated with only the possessions he could
carry; father taken by the FBI, separated from the family; early education;
job in the recreation department while incarcerated; reasons for enlisting;
Lost Battalion; liberation of Dachau; impact of service on his life. |
|
BOX-FOLDER MSS-2189 |
Transcript, September 19, 2009
|
|
1 folder |
|
MS01: Transcript of SR01. |
|
|
Kiyo Sato Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 68443 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Sato was incarcerated at Poston Relocation Center, Arizona. She left the camp
to attend college in Michigan and became a nurse. During the Korean War, she
joined the United States Air Force Nurse Corps and served in Texas, the
Philippines, and Japan. |
|
BOX miniDV |
Video Interview with Kiyo Sato, August 27, 2009
|
|
57 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: Early life; reason for joining Air Force in
1951; rejected by Navy during World War II because she was Japanese
American; nursing school; prejudice in Texas, 1951; assigned to Philippines;
time at Clark Air Force Base (AFB); officers club; sent to Japan; father
goes to America; pre-war prejudice in America; brother in 442nd Regimental
Combat Team; Japanese reaction to her; goes to father's hometown and meets
family for first time; discharged in Japan; awaiting orders; leaves Japan on
USS Stillman; land issues while in camps; reaction to how her family was
treated; Poston Relocation Center, Arizona; allowed to go East to college;
federal investigation of her; Ms. Cox, school teacher saw her off to camps;
brother went into Army; how people tried to normalize life for children's
sake; father hid things in bedrolls; people brought seeds; young allowed to
work outside of camps if they stayed away from West Coast; farming in camps;
homelessness issue; locals' reactions to camps; guards' treatment; pranks
played on guards; presentations to schools; life in the camps. |
|
|
Rikio Sato Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 57663 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Sato was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and Heart
Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming, until he was drafted into the United
States Army in 1945. He served in military intelligence at Fort Douglas, Utah;
Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Presidio of Monterey, California;
and Fort Ord, California. |
|
BOX CD/DVD-100 |
Video Interview with Rikio Sato, September 10, 2007
|
|
65 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: family life before the war; renting a farm
from the local Indian tribe; difference between Nisei and Issei; family
being friendly with the neighbors until Pearl Harbor; not expecting to be
evacuated; family getting orders to leave and only having two weeks to get
ready; ending up in the Portland Assembly Center, terrible conditions; "I
still don't understand why as an American citizen, you should be going
anywhere if you don't want to"; just going along with the situation; a lot
of people volunteering for the service to prove their loyalty to the
government; conditions at the "apartments" in the Heart Mountain Camp;
having traditional Japanese activities in the camp; guards at the camp;
jobs; working with German prisoners; registering for the draft when he
turned 18; Japanese Americans who were drafted and refusing to serve; being
trained in Military Intelligence; possibility of being used for the invasion
of Japan; parents' feelings about him being drafted; the government not
extending any extra incentives or benefits to his family when he entered the
military; Japanese American women entering the service; meeting a lot of
different people and making friends while in the service; not experiencing
any prejudice while in the service; thoughts on the war ending; experiencing
prejudice by a local barber upon returning to his hometown; dealing with
prejudice; feeling dissatisfied with the amount of compensation received;
how his perceptions of prejudice and racism in America have changed over the
years; thoughts on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team; thoughts on Tokyo Rose
and the lack of Japanese American sabotage; family members who have also
served in the military. |
|
|
Susumu Satow Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 42986 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Satow was incarcerated at Granada Relocation Center, Colorado (a.k.a.
"Amache"). In July 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army, and served with
the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy and France. |
|
BOX miniDV |
Video Interview with Susumu Satow, January 31, 2006
|
|
55 minutes |
|
MV01: Topics covered include: military service, locations of assignments;
high school baseball, outfielder, family of 11; enlisting in Army; Japanese
American experience; news and media; assignments, camps; incarceration at
Granada Relocation Center, Colorado (a.k.a. "Amache"); working on local farm
until volunteered for military; training at Camp Shelby; 442nd Regimental
Combat Team, Italy; part of a 81 millimeter mortar squad, Europe, Rome,
regimental combat team; wounded in France with shrapnel; Bronze Star, radio
lineman, assisting wounded staff sergeant at forward outpost and called in
artillery; coming home by ship; working as an apprentice at McClellan, radar
electronics; coming home, to Chicago; news report; hobbies, golf,
gardening. |
|
|
Helen Terada Shintaku Collection
|
|
Collection ID: 439 |
|
Digital content available
|
|
Shintaku was incarcerated at Poston Relocation Center, Arizona. Prior to the
war she was training as a nurse at Perez Valley Hospital in San Diego,
California. While incarcerated, she worked as a nurse's aide in the camp. She
was released from the camp to continue her training at Episcopal Hospital in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
|
BOX AC-12 |
Audio Interview with Helen Terada Shintaku,
May 2, 2002
|
|
18 minutes |
|
SR01: Topics covered include: Early life and family; Pearl Harbor; nursing
training at Perez Valley Hospital; family's reaction to incarceration;
Poston Relocation Center, Arizona; mother suffered a stroke; working as a
nurse in camp, lack of medicine; strike in camp; formerly incarcerated
people and workers suffering heat stroke; writing to hospitals that needed
nurses; meeting husband; leaving camp for Episcopal Hospital, Philadelphia;
leaving nurse's training to get married; getting her parents out of the
camp; depression while in camp. |
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BOX-FOLDER MSS-39/1 |
Transcript, May 2, 2002
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33 pages |
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MS01: Transcript of SR01. |
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BOX FD-2 |
Electronic file of manuscript, May 2, 2002
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1 floppy disc |
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CF01: Transcript (MS01) in TXT format. |
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Curt Shinichi Sugiyama Collection
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Collection ID: 91060 |
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Digital content available
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Sugiyama was incarcerated at Gila River Relocation Center, Arizona, as a child.
In 1946, he and his family were released from the camp and moved to Michigan.
In 1958, he enlisted in the United States Army and served with the Medical
Service Corps at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Following his discharge in 1962,
he pursued a career as a social worker. |
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BOX audio cassette |
Audio Interview with Curt Shinichi Sugiyama,
July 4, 2013
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56 minutes |
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SR01: Topics covered include: incarceration camp; parents had been American
citizens for years; no bitterness on his parents or his part; they moved to
Michigan after release from camp; in 1958, applied for a commission but was
inducted into the Army before the commission came; started boot camp at Fort
Ord in California; only there a few weeks when commission finally came
through; boot camp was of drill instructors teaching "Boots" to obey orders;
life experiences; went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina; assigned to a
medical service unit; caring for both Army personnel and family members;
worked with medical team of psychologists, social workers, and
psychiatrists; worked in mental health clinic with new recruits who were
having difficulty adjusting to military life; worked with military families;
crisis intervention; dealing with patients alcoholism; functional alcoholics
able to do their jobs because of military structure (SOPs-standard operating
procedures) but not able to handle life outside military; service very
helpful for reinforcing skills he had learned in graduate school; University
of Michigan; served there three years; about to be discharged but all was
frozen; sent to Fort Ord for six months until discharge; good memories of
his service life; happy to be in his chosen profession; crisis intervention
and working with families; spent rest of his career as a social worker;
believes military is necessary but war is not necessary; Japanese saying "If
you can't help it, just deal with it. |
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BOX-FOLDER MSS-02435/1 |
Printed matter, 2013
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1 folder |
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MS01: A part of a newspaper article and narrative that includes Sugiyama and
other formerly incarcerated people's experiences. |
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BOX-FOLDER MSS-02435/2 |
Photographs, 1959-2013
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7 photographs |
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