Interviews

1. Growing up with both Japanese and American influences

2. Starting to get angry

3. Finding out Roosevelt wanted Japan to attack

4. Strictly American, but sympathize with Japan

5. Parents expected to be taken by the FBI

6. Angry about the mistranslations of his father’s testimonies

7. Not able to go to Manzanar on a furlough

8. 525 Quartermaster Corps

9. Fort McClellan soldiers

10. “All I have dear to me is in the camp”

11. Try to be a bridge between both countries

12. Common Grounds

13. Interpretation of Nikkei

14. The Meaning of “Nikkei” (Japanese)

Cedrick Shimo

(1919-2020) Member of the 1800th Engineering Battalion. Promoted Japan-U.S. trade while working for Honda's export division.

Not able to go to Manzanar on a furlough

Major, or at that time Captain…I forgot his name already, came to Camp Grant seeking volunteers for the MIS, Military Intelligence School, I volunteered along with a bunch of my friends and we went to Camp Savage. And normally the class is 6 months and they put me into a special 3 month for so-called advanced students and most of them were Kibeis in there and there’s only 1 or 2 Niseis and I had a heck of a time cause there’s no way I could keep…you know be like the Kibeis so I had to study twice as hard you might say. And we got along ok, and then we would get a furlough before we go overseas. So I put in for Manzanar, and they said you cannot go there. And I said,” Why?” They said,” well, no Niseis, even soldiers are allowed in into the West Defense Zone at that time.”

Later they rescinded that regulation but at that time, we couldn’t get there. So that’s when I got really angry, and about 20 of us raised holy hell you might say And then the questionnaire came out, 27, 28…I said I’m loyal to the U.S., but I’m no longer willing to go wherever ordered, my fight for liberty is here and not over there.

armed forces military World War II

Date: Mar 25, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Sojin Kim

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Cedrick Shimo was born in 1919 and grew up in the diverse neighborhood of Boyle Heights. He was active in the Boy Scouts, kendo and the Cougars, a Japanese American athletic club. He received his draft notice the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor while he was at graduate school in Cal Berkeley so he joined the army and signed up for the Military Intelligence Service Language School. However, when he was denied furlough to visit his mother in Manzanar, he became outraged and refused to fight overseas and was placed in the 1800th Engineering Battalion – a segregated group of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans who were considered suspect. Their role was to repair damages to roads, bridges and fences caused by combat troops during training maneuvers. He returned to Boyle Heights after being honorably discharged from the 1800th and went on to become vice-president of the export division for Honda.

On November 20, 2008, Japan awarded him The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for his efforts in promoting Japan-U.S. trade during a time of trade friction between the two countries while he was at Honda.

He passed away in April 2020 at age 100. (April 2020)

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Not able to go to Manzanar on a furlough

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