Terry Aratani - Fred Matsumura - Kenneth Okuma - Henry Bruno Yamada Segment 15

Basic training at Camp Shelby (ddr-densho-1000-3-1) - 00:02:00
The impressive record of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team: "[W]e had something to prove, that we were loyal Americans." (ddr-densho-1000-3-2) - 00:03:35
Thoughts on serving in a segregated military unit (ddr-densho-1000-3-3) - 00:01:38
The bond between members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's I Company (ddr-densho-1000-3-4) - 00:03:51
"It's a big family": the importance of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's I Company's reunions (ddr-densho-1000-3-5) - 00:04:20
Memories of friend Shiro Kashino in battle and in the years after (ddr-densho-1000-3-6) - 00:04:19
Memories of Shiro Kashino at past reunions (ddr-densho-1000-3-7) - 00:03:05
"A soldier's soldier," stories of Shiro Kashino in battle (ddr-densho-1000-3-8) - 00:05:55
Memories of battle in Europe while serving with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (ddr-densho-1000-3-9) - 00:02:32
Shiro Kashino as an athlete: organizing friendly competitions between Hawaii and mainland soldiers (ddr-densho-1000-3-10) - 00:01:48
The only records of AWOL in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were soldiers leaving the hospital early to return to battle (ddr-densho-1000-3-11) - 00:01:01
The sounds of war, learning to interpret the sound of mortar fire (ddr-densho-1000-3-12) - 00:04:32
Devastation caused by tree bursts (ddr-densho-1000-3-13) - 00:02:15
Psychological effects of war: dealing with killing another person, friends dying beside you (ddr-densho-1000-3-14) - 00:03:55
The "Champagne Campaign," a chance to relax and have fun (ddr-densho-1000-3-15) - 00:03:06
(ddr-densho-1000-3-16) - 00:01:24
The continuing legacy of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's I Company (ddr-densho-1000-3-17) - 00:02:46
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ddr-densho-1000-3-15 (Legacy UID: denshovh-aterry_g-01-0015)

The "Champagne Campaign," a chance to relax and have fun

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. Kari Hiraoka, one of the interviewers, is Shiro and Louise Kashino's daughter.

00:03:06 — Segment 15 of 17

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July 3, 1998

Densho Visual History Collection

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

ddr-densho-1000-3

Terry Aratani
Kenneth Okuma
Fred Matsumura
Henry Bruno Yamada

Terry Aratani - Fred Matsumura - Kenneth Okuma - Henry Bruno Yamada Interview

00:52:02 — 17 segments

July 3, 1998

Honolulu, Hawaii

This interview centers on these individuals' military service during WWII as members of I Company, part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Japanese American fighting unit and one of the most highly decorated military units in U.S. history. During this interview they discuss their experiences training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and fighting in Europe during such battles as the battle of the "Lost Battalion." They also explore the importance of their enduring camaraderie, evident in their frequent reunions over the past fifty years. Also mentioned is Shiro Kashino, a staff sergeant in the 442nd who was wrongly court-martialed after a scuffle in a bar in which a military police officer was struck by one of Kashino's men. Although Kashino's involvement in the scuffle had been limited to trying to break up the fight, he spent the rest of the war in the stockade and released only to fight in battles.

(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. Kari Hiraoka, one of the interviewers, is Shiro and Louise Kashino's daughter.)

Matt Emery, interviewer; Tom Ikeda, interviewer; Larry Hashima, videographer

Densho

Courtesy of Densho

API