<Begin Segment 30>

SF: What do you think caused you to soften your attitude about the Japanese over the years?

JF: I think it was just a matter of time, and I keep, when you ask me if a thought came to my mind that I was appreciative of, of the way that the Japanese fought, they were no slouches, that's for damned sure. And just, I think that probably would play, play some kind of a role in this, figuring out appreciation of another soldier who was very well, very well-trained, and just being ever-so-thankful that we didn't go from Burma over into, invading force in Japan.

SF: Do you recall what your feeling was when you first heard about the atomic bomb?

JF: I think mostly I didn't believe it at first. I don't know how we heard about it. I think it must, must have been on the news radio somehow. But then when it actually did happen, why, there was, I mean, when we actually knew it, then the war was over, why, we celebrated it as well as we could, but we didn't, really didn't have any, any way to celebrate, other than having a drink, which we did anyway. So, but I mean, I was at the town of Myitkyina by then, and we were on the outskirts of the town, and apparently they were -- at the hospitals where there were nurses and things, why, there was a lot of partying going on and things like that. But I really don't remember what my, my first, my first reaction was to the, to the bombs. I think, as I said, I think it was just total disbelief that they could do anything like that.

<End Segment 30> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.