Harvey Watanabe Interview Segment 21

Growing up in a farming community (ddr-densho-1000-102-1) - 00:04:11
Parents' background (ddr-densho-1000-102-2) - 00:03:52
Attending elementary school, learning English (ddr-densho-1000-102-3) - 00:02:16
Relations between Japanese and Italian immigrants: tasting spaghetti for the first time (ddr-densho-1000-102-4) - 00:02:59
Activities growing up: sports, learning how to drive (ddr-densho-1000-102-5) - 00:04:15
Awareness of prewar employment discrimination (ddr-densho-1000-102-6) - 00:02:04
Issei values: be positive and work hard (ddr-densho-1000-102-7) - 00:02:35
Parent's reaction to son's draft notice: "It's a matter of duty" (ddr-densho-1000-102-8) - 00:04:54
Hearing of the bombing of Pearl Harbor while on leave from Fort Lewis (ddr-densho-1000-102-9) - 00:03:38
Mobilizing after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (ddr-densho-1000-102-10) - 00:02:29
Meeting future wife days after the bombing of Peal Harbor (ddr-densho-1000-102-11) - 00:01:08
Removal and evacuation of Japanese American servicemen (ddr-densho-1000-102-12) - 00:05:18
Worrying about family in Poston concentration camp, Arizona (ddr-densho-1000-102-13) - 00:02:27
Loss of newly purchased family property (ddr-densho-1000-102-14) - 00:02:21
A GI's reaction to incarceration of family and community (ddr-densho-1000-102-15) - 00:02:45
Getting married; wife is released from camp (ddr-densho-1000-102-16) - 00:02:22
Impact of the incarceration on the Seattle Japanese American community (ddr-densho-1000-102-17) - 00:02:07
Serving in the Military Intelligence Service in MacArthur's headquarters (ddr-densho-1000-102-18) - 00:02:10
Reviewing top secret documents for the U.S. while being tailed by the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps at the same time (ddr-densho-1000-102-19) - 00:04:22
Being mistaken for an escaping Japanese soldier (ddr-densho-1000-102-20) - 00:03:26
Negotiating with Japanese officers over details of the occupation (ddr-densho-1000-102-21) - 00:05:46
Letters to wife are censored by the government (ddr-densho-1000-102-22) - 00:00:41
Serving in Japan during the postwar occupation, managing a hotel in Tokyo (ddr-densho-1000-102-23) - 00:07:56
Memories of service in Japan (ddr-densho-1000-102-24) - 00:02:10
Visiting relatives in occupied Japan (ddr-densho-1000-102-25) - 00:02:50
Returning to the United States and reuniting with wife (ddr-densho-1000-102-26) - 00:03:00
Working for the Boeing Company; serving in the Korean War (ddr-densho-1000-102-27) - 00:03:50
Teaching grandchildren about the incarceration experience (ddr-densho-1000-102-28) - 00:02:07
Personal reactions to redress: no bitterness (ddr-densho-1000-102-29) - 00:03:14
Reflecting on the lessons of the incarceration (ddr-densho-1000-102-30) - 00:01:51
Looking back on life: importance of striving ahead (ddr-densho-1000-102-31) - 00:02:39
Raising a family (ddr-densho-1000-102-32) - 00:02:06
Finally deciding to talk about wartime experiences (ddr-densho-1000-102-33) - 00:04:17
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ddr-densho-1000-102-21 (Legacy UID: denshovh-wharvey-01-0021)

Negotiating with Japanese officers over details of the occupation

00:05:46 — Segment 21 of 33

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November 4, 1996

Densho Visual History Collection

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

ddr-densho-1000-102

Harvey Watanabe

Harvey Watanabe Interview

01:44:06 — 33 segments

November 4, 1996

Seattle, Washington

Nisei male. Born February 7, 1919, in Exeter, California. Spent prewar childhood in Visalia, California. Drafted prior to World War II. Served in an activated National Guard unit at Fort Lewis, Washington. When World War II broke out, he and all the other Nisei servicemen at Fort Lewis were sent inland. About twenty, Harvey included, went to Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. Recruited for the Military Intelligence Service and trained at the Military Intelligence Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota. Sent overseas to serve in the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) of General MacArthur's headquarters in Australia, Manila and Japan. Assisted in negotiating the surrender of Japanese troops in Manila. Managed the Dai Ichi Hotel in Tokyo for headquarters staff. Later served in the Korean War. Resettled in Seattle, Washington and worked for the Boeing Company.

Stacy Sakamoto, interviewer; Richard Pratt, videographer

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

API