PARTNER

INTERVIEW ID

ddr-densho-1000-3

NARRATOR

Terry Aratani
Kenneth Okuma
Fred Matsumura
Henry Bruno Yamada

INTERVIEW TITLE

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

00:52:02 — 17 segments

DESCRIPTION

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.)

PRODUCTION

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

PERSONS/ORGANIZATIONS

CONTRIBUTOR

Densho

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of Densho

RIGHTS