Gender

Male

Birth date

1925-6-29

Place of birth

Olaa HI, U.S.A.

Inducted

1944-1-3, Honolulu HI

Enlistment type

Volunteer

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Support

Units served

PACMIRS (Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section)

Military specialty

Translator 267 (Japanese Language) and Intelligence NCO-631

Stationed

USA: Camp Savage and Ft. Snelling, MN; Camp Ritchie, MD; Ft. Myer, VA; Ft. Shafter, HI
Other Countries: Japan - Sendai, Morioka,

Separated

Honolulu HI

Unit responsibility

Collecting and researching military data.

Personal responsibility

Collecting and evaluating all Japanese military info secured by U.S. Intellligence and reconnaisance units.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Did not go to war zone (Japan) until Nov. '45, when war was over.

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

World War II Victory Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon
Good Conduct Medal
Army Commendation Ribbon
American Campaign Medal

Living conditions

Lived in close quarters. Slept together in barracks, or cramped up to 4 in small hotel-like rooms, like at the YUSEN Bldg. in Tokyo, or hotel rooms in other Japanese cities like Morioka and Sendai.
In barracks, bathing was communal.
Meals were good but fattening. Can't drink beer and hated bars, so went to movies or stage shows.

Most vivid memory of military experience

Had no basic training, so when going overseas to Japan, they sent us M.I.S. members to the firing range, taught us how to hold a rifle, and shoot at a target. None of us could shoot at the targets, of course, and we had 'Maggies' drawers' flying all over the place. So, we were sent to Japan right after the war and our records read 'shot M1 rifle, unqualified' - but that qualified us to be sent overseas without any basic training.

Wherever we were stationed in the U.S. (MN, MD, VA), we were treated extremely well by the locals - even got invited to haole homes for dinners. It was good to know that most Americans were not racists.

Missed most whilst in the military

My family in Hawaii.

Most important thing, personally, to come from military experience?

That I volunteered for service in the U.S. Army during wartime and willingly placed my life on the line when my country needed me the most. That I did this not only for myself, but for my family and those close to me and for their ancestors.

Additional information

I was born a homosexual, and was able to serve in the military service with honor and dignity. At no time did any of my comrades, with whom I lived in extremely close quarters, feel intimidated by my presence. I feel it very important that I state this, as I feel that the military or any ban on homosexuality is a civil rights issue and not a moral issue at all.