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Playing basketball in the army

We had an orientation when we first arrived. This is the second training, we went into clerical, typing and things like that, the major was to make a big speech and I was tired, I was falling asleep and he saw me, I got in trouble for sleeping. He said, "You're going to do KP, dishwashing, all the time." Oh, boy. But then I played basketball for them and we won the championship, right, and so he says, "No more KP, you're okay." But what happened was I played good that day, I stole the ball, passed to my friend, went for a layup, and we won the game, right? So it made me look good. Anyway, that's my experience, basketball.

 

Now for the second time, I joined another basketball team there, and this was a bigger deal, And so we played, and then we were supposed to play the championship game on a weekend, but I needed a pass to go home. But the company commander says, "If you play, I'll let you have the next day off, easy." So I said, okay, so again, I played basketball and they gave me a pass. Nobody else got a pass, but I got a pass to go home. So it was great, basketball did a lot for me. [Laughs]


basketball sports United States Army

Date: September 20, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Tom Ikeda and Yoko Nishimura

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum and Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

George Kazuharu Naganuma was born in Lima, Peru to his Issei parents in 1938. His family were forced to board a ship, to be incarcerated at Crystal City, Texas, during World War II. They remained there even after the war had ended, without a place to go. They were able to leave via a sponsorship by a reverend in San Francisco, California, where they were able to find jobs and housing. George joined the Boy Scouts in San Francisco and was able to visit Japan with his troop. He joined the U.S. Army and worked as a clerical typist. (June 2020)

Kim,Young O.

People with talent in the 100th infantry battalion

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

Kim,Young O.

“Agreement of silence”

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

Kim,Young O.

Horrible pictures of war

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

Kim,Young O.

Near-death experience

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

Kim,Young O.

General Ryder’s faith in the 100th infantry battalion

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

Kim,Young O.

Comfortable in combat

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

Suto,Henry

Enlisting in the U.S. Army (Japanese)

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

Schneider,Harry

Coming to California

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Learning Japanese with the MIS

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Meeting Hamako in Japan

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Miscommunications

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Writing Letters

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Meeting Mr. Amano

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Marriage and Returning to US

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

Schneider,Harry

Reception of Hamako by family

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service