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ME: Today is, what, Friday, the third of July. We are at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu, at the AJA Veterans National Convention. And we're here speaking with Henry Bruno Yamada. Interviewer is Matt Emery. And behind the camera is Larry Hashima. Thank you for joining us, Bruno.

BY: Thank you.

ME: I guess the first thing I am curious about is, where did you get your nickname?

BY: Well, one of my friends that were in the same hut with me, Tom Umeda, his name. He called me that Bruno one, one time, and that name sticked with me all through Europe, Shelby, Europe, and even now. And I still carry that name. I don't know what it really means. I know it's Italian, but -- maybe it's after, after Bruno Haupman.

ME: Oh.

BY: Remember that person that kidnapped Lindberg's baby?

ME: Uh-huh.

BY: Or Bruno Banduchi, the football player. I don't know.

ME: Well, whatever it is, it sounds --

BY: Yeah.

ME: It sounds pretty tough.

BY: Yeah. Well, anyway, I hope it's good, it's nothing bad. Yeah.

ME: I like it. Can you tell us where and when you were born?

BY: I was born in Lawai, Kauai, island of Kauai, January 1st, 1923.

ME: New Year's Day.

BY: Yeah.

ME: Now, you were born there. Did you grow up there?

BY: I, yeah. I really grew up there, yeah, 'til high school, anyway.

ME: Okay. So what was it like growing up on Kauai?

BY: It was pretty rough on me because my mom, my, left us when I was about eight or nine years old. And I lived with my father until, until I left the islands.

ME: I see.

BY: Yeah.

ME: So it was just you and your father, or did you have any siblings?

BY: No, nobody. Just two of us. So he cooks. Sometime I used to cook. And I did some of the shopping, yard work. Was a pretty rough life. I work in the plantations when I was nine years old.

ME: You started working when you were nine?

BY: Yeah, part-time. On the weekend...

ME: Okay.

BY: ...and during holidays.

ME: What were some of your responsibilities on the plantation?

BY: Well, I used to, we, I used to do, we, getting rid of the weeds in the cane field. We used to call that hoe hana.

ME: Hoe hana?

BY: Hoe hana, yeah. That's with a hoe. You're working with a hoe. And also I used to plant sugar cane. And I used to cultivate sugar cane when -- and that's about it.

ME: Wow. So you just did this part time so you were still able to go to school, right?

BY: Yeah. This was only weekends and holidays.

ME: Okay. Were you a pretty good student?

BY: No. I wasn't a good student. I went there to, to eat my lunch, I guess. [Laughs]

ME: You were in recess, right?

BY: Yeah.

ME: Did you do any sports?

BY: Well, I played football in the weight league, 130 pound, 125, 130, football team for the plantation.

ME: Oh, okay.

BY: Yeah.

ME: What was that like?

BY: Oh, it was a lotta fun, yeah. We used to travel all over the islands, and playing league games, regular league games. I used to really enjoy that.

ME: Sounds like fun.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.