James Yamazaki Interview Segment 1

Father's background as a Buddhist minister in Japan (ddr-densho-1000-175-1) - 00:03:56
Father's family in Japan (ddr-densho-1000-175-2) - 00:09:27
Father's arrival in the U.S.: an atypical immigrant (ddr-densho-1000-175-3) - 00:07:32
Mother's family background: raised by a Canadian missionary (ddr-densho-1000-175-4) - 00:04:50
Parents' meeting and marriage (ddr-densho-1000-175-5) - 00:05:40
Growing up in the Uptown neighborhood of Los Angeles (ddr-densho-1000-175-6) - 00:07:02
Memories of childhood (ddr-densho-1000-175-7) - 00:06:02
Father's involvement in a prewar community economic association (ddr-densho-1000-175-8) - 00:06:15
Father's church is the hub of community activity (ddr-densho-1000-175-9) - 00:06:33
Father's establishment of a prewar Boy Scout troop (ddr-densho-1000-175-10) - 00:09:54
Changes in the Japanese American community after the Immigration Act of 1924 (ddr-densho-1000-175-11) - 00:06:22
Growing families in the Japanese American community (ddr-densho-1000-175-12) - 00:03:50
Attending college (ddr-densho-1000-175-13) - 00:06:17
Applying for medical schools and choosing those that would be amenable to Asian American students (ddr-densho-1000-175-14) - 00:03:20
Volunteering for the army reserves, questions about dual citizenship (ddr-densho-1000-175-15) - 00:04:35
Hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor: "It was just terrifying" (ddr-densho-1000-175-16) - 00:03:03
Visiting family in Jerome concentration camp and finding out father had been assaulted and hospitalized (ddr-densho-1000-175-17) - 00:07:58
Concern over father's attack in camp (ddr-densho-1000-175-18) - 00:07:43
Meeting future wife (ddr-densho-1000-175-19) - 00:07:39
Attending basic training for medics (ddr-densho-1000-175-20) - 00:04:16
Assigned to the 106th Infantry Division (ddr-densho-1000-175-21) - 00:07:43
Memories of the journey to Europe (ddr-densho-1000-175-22) - 00:03:11
Getting married before military deployment (ddr-densho-1000-175-23) - 00:06:28
Memories of the Battle of the Bulge (ddr-densho-1000-175-24) - 00:09:45
Being captured by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge (ddr-densho-1000-175-25) - 00:10:20
Marched to Hanover, Germany, as a prisoner of war (ddr-densho-1000-175-26) - 00:09:42
Spending the Christmas holidays in a prisoner of war camp (ddr-densho-1000-175-27) - 00:07:26
An unsuccessful rescue attempt at the POW camp in Hammelburg, Germany (ddr-densho-1000-175-28) - 00:10:29
Recaptured and marched through Bavaria (ddr-densho-1000-175-29) - 00:06:25
Meeting Nisei soldiers at a prisoner of war camp (ddr-densho-1000-175-30) - 00:03:34
Liberation from a POW camp (ddr-densho-1000-175-31) - 00:06:19
Returning to the U.S. and reuniting with wife (ddr-densho-1000-175-32) - 00:07:51
Emotional effects of having been a prisoner of war (ddr-densho-1000-175-33) - 00:04:20
Training to be a pediatrician (ddr-densho-1000-175-34) - 00:07:11
Parents' postwar work (ddr-densho-1000-175-35) - 00:06:18
Being asked to go to Japan to conduct a research study after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (ddr-densho-1000-175-36) - 00:07:04
Encountering resistance by British armed forces in Hiroshima (ddr-densho-1000-175-37) - 00:09:16
Meeting relatives in Japan (ddr-densho-1000-175-38) - 00:09:46
Description of studies conducted in Nagasaki after the atomic bombing (ddr-densho-1000-175-39) - 00:11:26
Impact of being Japanese American conducting atomic bomb studies in Japan (ddr-densho-1000-175-40) - 00:05:57
Conclusions from atomic bomb research studies (ddr-densho-1000-175-41) - 00:08:47
Receiving acknowledgment of work (ddr-densho-1000-175-42) - 00:02:43
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ddr-densho-1000-175-1 (Legacy UID: denshovh-yjames-01-0001)

Father's background as a Buddhist minister in Japan

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

00:03:56 — Segment 1 of 42

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February 4, 2005

Densho Visual History Collection

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

ddr-densho-1000-175

James Yamazaki

James Yamazaki Interview

04:44:15 — 42 segments

February 4, 2005

Van Nuys, California

Nisei male. Born July 6, 1916. Grew up in the Los Angeles area, where father was a Buddhist minister. Attended medical school before World War II. During the war, served in the U.S. Army as a doctor with the 106th Infantry Division in Europe. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge and was held in several prisoner of war camps in Germany. After returning to the U.S., worked as a pediatrician for a time before moving to Japan to study the effects of the atomic bombings on children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

(This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.)

Tom Ikeda, interviewer; Carl Wakamoto, videographer

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

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