Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1381/

Marriage and Returning to US

In 1948, we were married in a little Methodist Church on the Ginza—just her father, Shizuko Naito, and I guess her father's friends or...there were only a small group of us at the wedding. 

And nineteen...we lived in Fujisawa, I worked at NYK building in Tokyo and took the train everyday—commuted—from Fujisawa because her father gave us a room for ourself, which extended to the Japanese garden, it was a beautiful place and had a big pool with Japanese carp and beautiful goldfish and in 1950 I finally got permission to take my wife back to the U.S.

At that time, there were no Orientals allowed, in 1950, in America. So my father went to an alderman, greased his palm—for his connections in Washington—and there they passed a bill, I forget the name of it—the number, 7276 or something like that, that allowed her to come into the United States. And so in 1950, November, we left on the General Mann, it was a transport ship—army transport—and there was a storm just outside of Yokohama—again—in the winter, of course, and it followed us all the way to San Francisco, where we docked. And then we got on a train, and Hamako was very sea-sick and miserable, and we went to Solano Beach, where my aunt had my father buy a small place, so we would have a place to live.


armed forces brides military retired military personnel United States Army veterans war brides wives World War II

Date: January 26, 2012

Location: California, US

Interviewer: John Esaki, Yoko Nishimura

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

Interviewee Bio

Harry Schneider, (b. 1916), was a member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service stationed in Tokyo. Although Harry was not Japanese, he initially was recruited for the M.I.S. training program in San Francisco because of his administrative skills, but then was motivated to learn the Japanese language with the other Nisei soldiers. He married his wife, Hamako, in 1948 soon after the end of WWII. At the end of the War, special legislation was required for an Asian “war bride” to be admitted to the U.S. In 1950 Harry and Hamako married again at the Japanese Consulate in Tokyo so that they could be one of the first couples allowed to enter. Harry passed away at age 97 in June 2013. (June 2014)

Young O. Kim
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Kim,Young O.

Comfortable in combat

(1919 - 2006) World War II and Korean War veteran

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Cedrick Shimo
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Shimo,Cedrick

525 Quartermaster Corps

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

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Cedrick Shimo
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Shimo,Cedrick

Fort McClellan soldiers

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

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Terry Janzen
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Janzen,Terry

Memories of Poston

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

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Terry Janzen
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Janzen,Terry

Arriving at Poston

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

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Virgil Westdale
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Westdale,Virgil

522nd and Dachau

(1918-2022) Hapa World War II veteran, pilot

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Virgil Westdale
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Westdale,Virgil

Fellow Hapa 442 Hana

(1918-2022) Hapa World War II veteran, pilot

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Francesca Yukari Biller
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Biller,Francesca Yukari

Writing a novel on the 442nd

Jewish Japanese American journalist

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Herb Ohta
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Ohta,Herb

How he got on the All-Navy show on Ed Sullivan

(b. 1934) Ukulele player from Hawaii

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Jean Hamako Schneider
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Schneider,Jean Hamako

Conflicted about immigrating to America (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

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Susumu “Sus” Ito
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Ito,Susumu “Sus”

Feeling prejudice while looking for jobs

(1919 - 2015) Nisei who served in World War II with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

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Susumu “Sus” Ito
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Ito,Susumu “Sus”

Generosity of the Italians

(1919 - 2015) Nisei who served in World War II with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

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Susumu “Sus” Ito
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Ito,Susumu “Sus”

Invited to teach at Harvard by his boss

(1919 - 2015) Nisei who served in World War II with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team

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Terumi Hisamatsu Calloway
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Calloway,Terumi Hisamatsu

Regret (Japanese)

(b. 1937) A war bride from Yokohama

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

The riot in Manzanar

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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