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AI: Well, and so, at the same time, while you were an undergrad, were you in ROTC? Reserve Officer Training Corps?

RS: Right, yeah. And it was a time that ROTC was mandatory. And, in other words, every person that went to the University of Washington, every male at least, had to A, know how to swim. I don't know if you're aware of that test, the very famous test that happened on the first day of school. And that was... we all had to go to the swimming pool and strip down and jump in and tread for at least five minutes. And if you didn't tread for five minutes you failed and had to enroll in swimming, which you had to continue to enroll in until you passed. But I was able to pass that without too much difficulty. The second thing was that you had to enroll in ROTC, which meant going to military science classes several days a week and then going to what was called a drill on Fridays. And that was the most painful part because you had to wear a military uniform and polish your shoes and polish all your brass and everything else, and go drill for a couple of hours, which was not fun. And of course as, because you were in your first two years, drilling meant being part of a larger team. You weren't directing it or you weren't any kind of a leader, you were just one of the masses that was marching around on order. And since that was required for two years, most of us felt that we didn't want to get involved in this after those required two years. And because the draft was still on I was quite willing to be drafted as a private first class. We did get one rank privilege. Instead of going in as a private you went in as a private first class. You got one stripe because of our ROTC experience, having taking two years of military science classes and going to drills. They gave you a stripe for that. And I was perfectly willing to go in as a PFC rather than putting up with the third and fourth year of drill and classes in college and going in as an officer.

So as it turns out, after completing my first two years and telling my father that that was it -- and he was not in favor of me dropping out at that point. And he took a very practical appraisal of the situation and said, "Listen, you're gonna have to go in because of the draft. Isn't it better to go in a second lieutenant than a private first class?" And I said, "Well it might be better but I'm not willing to wear that damn uniform for two more years and going down to the parking lot and changing into my military uniform and trying not to scuff my shoes, every Friday for two more years." And so, the night before that big decision had to be made, which wasn't a decision for me, it was signing the paper saying that I forfeit the last two years, my dad invited Shiro Kashino over. And Shiro was, at the time, I think, the second most decorated living veteran from the 442nd. And Shiro was also a very close family friend, someone that I knew from the time I was born, and someone that I respected and liked very much. And the reason my dad invited Shiro over was to convince me to go for that third and fourth year. There was no way I thought he can convince me. But Shiro took the approach that it was my duty as a Japanese American to do this, and went on to tell me about how, when he was in the 442nd, that they had all white officers, until the very late stages of the war. And that there was so much, so many JAs that had leadership ability that were not allowed to become officers until the very end where it was almost inconsequential, and how it would be so wonderful, as a Sansei, if I could go in there and sort of fulfill that. You know, it was a whole, talking to my dad about med. school again, fulfilling someone else's destiny. Except this time it worked. And amazingly, after, I think he was over for three hours talking to me about this, and I had never seen Shiro so passionate about something. And as I say, I had known him for all of my life. And he was someone that I really respected so much, and the fact that his behavior changed, his whole demeanor and everything. I had never seen him practically crawling, begging me. I would never in my wildest dreams ever envision him begging me for something. And so it was the first decision that I ever made for the Japanese community, instead of myself. And I signed the papers that put me in for the final two years.

And so for that third and fourth year -- and I sort of justified it on the basis that my tuition would be paid for the last two years, plus I would get an allowance to buy books, which for me was art supplies for the last two years. So, from a financial standpoint it was a great deal, but I did have to wear that damn uniform every Friday for... and so, as it turns out, another thing, obligation we had was, between our junior and senior year we had to go to summer camp, which I believe was for four weeks. And we had to go to Fort Lewis and essentially go through basic training, except an extreme form of basic training, one for potential officers. And this is where it was like sheer utter harassment, you know, like mopping the floor squatting on a toothbrush, and doing the entire floor of the barracks that way, everybody sitting on their own toothbrush, and harassment things like that, and going on four hours of sleep a night, you know, for four weeks, and a real test of leadership abilities, and all of that, leadership reaction tests on a weekly basis, physical fitness, endurance tests, training at nighttime, test after test after test.

And the amazing thing is that at the beginning of our senior year, after this was all over, and the first day of military science class they, they had an announcement and the commanding colonel or whatever of our brigade, or whatever it was came in and came into our big military... we had a big meeting of all the classes together, and to make an announcement of all the distinguished military students. And I was one of 'em. Everybody in there knew that they were one, except for me. No one ever told me. And to this day that really kind of -- I was wondering if there was some, something discriminatory about that, because that was such a prestigious thing. So I'd always hear guys talking about DMS, and the other thing was DMG, to be a Distinguished Military Graduate. I just thought that was so far out, because I could see by test scores and everything else that there were students that were gonna make a career out of the military service that were way up on top, physical fitness. I was always in the upper fourth, but never at the top, but I was in the upper fourth of everything. And I think, in the end, that's what caused me to go right up to the, near the top. So anyway, I was called up front and given this badge to wear and all this. And all of a sudden I sort of perceived myself a little differently, like hey, you competed with these guys. And, but it was so bizarre that no one congratulated me or anything and it was like, it was almost like there was a reluctance to accept me into this sort of fraternity.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.