Susumu Ito Segment 9

Father's early beginnings in America: a "dirt-poor sharecropper" (ddr-densho-1000-29-1) - 00:03:39
Early educational background: a very supportive mother (ddr-densho-1000-29-2) - 00:03:03
Parents' job cooking for sharecropping farm workers (ddr-densho-1000-29-3) - 00:02:01
Optimistic attitude toward difficult childhood (ddr-densho-1000-29-4) - 00:05:16
Attending high school (ddr-densho-1000-29-5) - 00:04:37
Racial climate of Stockton High School (ddr-densho-1000-29-6) - 00:02:08
Attitude toward segregation in school and later in the military, racial pride (ddr-densho-1000-29-7) - 00:06:16
Working before being drafted (ddr-densho-1000-29-8) - 00:04:31
Feeling happy to be drafted (ddr-densho-1000-29-9) - 00:02:30
Memories of basic training (ddr-densho-1000-29-10) - 00:04:16
Training in Ford Ord (ddr-densho-1000-29-11) - 00:02:02
Being asked to help interrogate Issei after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (ddr-densho-1000-29-12) - 00:07:10
Memories of segregation in the South, being "considered white" (ddr-densho-1000-29-13) - 00:02:35
Signing up for artillery duty (ddr-densho-1000-29-14) - 00:06:48
Relations between Hawaiian and mainland GIs, developing camaraderie and respect (ddr-densho-1000-29-15) - 00:09:48
Attitude toward the risks of war (ddr-densho-1000-29-16) - 00:04:57
Remembering the battle of the "Lost Battalion" (ddr-densho-1000-29-17) - 00:07:37
The battle of the "Lost Battalion": building unit cohesion (ddr-densho-1000-29-18) - 00:04:15
Memories of a particular mission, reflections on the psychology of war (ddr-densho-1000-29-19) - 00:08:26
Psychology of war and killing: military propaganda (ddr-densho-1000-29-20) - 00:06:36
The psychology of war and killing (ddr-densho-1000-29-21) - 00:06:49
Witnessing atrocities during World War II (ddr-densho-1000-29-22) - 00:05:38
Thoughts on General Dahlquist (ddr-densho-1000-29-23) - 00:07:59
Role of 522nd Field Artillery Battalion in the rescue of Dachau concentration camp inmates (ddr-densho-1000-29-24) - 00:11:00
Thoughts and reactions upon arrival at Dachau satellite camp (ddr-densho-1000-29-25) - 00:09:30
(ddr-densho-1000-29-26) - 00:03:59
An all-Sansei military unit? a bygone era (ddr-densho-1000-29-27) - 00:03:10
From sharecropper to Harvard professor, words of wisdom (ddr-densho-1000-29-28) - 00:07:01
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ddr-densho-1000-29-9 (Legacy UID: denshovh-isusumu-01-0009)

Feeling happy to be drafted

This interview was conducted at the 1998 Americans of Japanese Ancestry Veterans National Convention, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Because of the full conference schedule, interviews conducted at the reunion were generally shorter in length than the typical Densho interview and tend to concentrate on the individual's military service during World War II.

00:02:30 — Segment 9 of 28

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July 3, 1998

Densho Visual History Collection

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

ddr-densho-1000-29

Susumu Ito

Susumu Ito Interview

02:33:37 — 28 segments

July 3, 1998

Honolulu, Hawaii

Nisei male. Born July 27, 1919, in Stockton, California. Emeritus professor of anatomy at Harvard Medical School. During World War II, was second lieutenant, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. In his interview, he discusses his memories of serving in the 442nd and some of the more psychological aspects of combat.

(This interview was conducted at the 1998 Americans of Japanese Ancestry Veterans National Convention, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Because of the full conference schedule, interviews conducted at the reunion were generally shorter in length than the typical Densho interview and tend to concentrate on the individual's military service during World War II.)

Stephen Fugita, interviewer; Matt Emery, videographer

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

API