<Begin Segment 33>

TK: Let me go back for a second. Here you are as a warrant officer, out of a unit in which you were in the band, and interpreter. How did they... and then you, and then so you're in the 522 Field Artillery Battalion?

MT: Uh-huh, uh-huh.

TK: Under the 442nd?

MT: I was in 442 Combat Team.

TK: But did you have, was there any reason why they put you into the Field Artillery Unit?

MT: That I can't understand. All of my basic training and 40th Division training was all infantry training. But to this day, I really don't understand. They assigned us our MOS, I guess, before we got there and so we ended up in the artillery.

TK: And MOS is Military Occupational Specialty?

MT: Uh-huh. Was field artillery.

TK: So, then you were, as a unit, shipped to Europe?

MT: Europe, uh-huh. We, we...

TK: I'm sorry, and what was your position? And what was your responsibility in the 522 when you went to Europe?

MT: Well, when I got my warrant officer junior grade designation, I was assistant supply officer under the, the captain was a commander of our, of the supply unit, which we, we took care of ordering of all the 105 mm Howitzer ammunition, the food, the clothing, all supplies that kept up with our unit, of the whole battalion, we took care of it, including all the vehicles, jeeps, trucks, were all under our supply, under Captain Barnhill. But usually, Dr. Kashima, it was a little uncomfortable with the fact that usually when you become an officer, they usually transferred out to another unit and, but it was a little uncomfortable when I got my warrant officer, then I had to transfer, be billeted over at the officer's quarters and then all my friends were still noncoms and privates and things like that. But we got over it. I mean, well, the colonel made sure that everybody got over it because they always... everybody wanted to just call you "Min" and "Min." And like Master Sergeant Takayanagi, he, we'd go on maneuvers he'd say, "Mr. Tsu-," I mean, he'd say, "Tsubota," and Colonel Harrison says, "Min, get Sergeant Takayanagi to understand that you're an officer now and that you are now 'Mr. Tsubota,' (...)" [Laughs] So it, but we got over that very fast and, and we, we got along very good. Our friendship was all the way through our European theater.

<End Segment 33> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.