<Begin Segment 59>

TI: But on that trip, forty days over, so you were brought up to the deck, introduced as U.S. soldiers --

RM: Yeah.

TI: Who were gonna help with the Japanese language.

RM: Yeah.

TI: But your sense was there were still people who were still real hostile to you, that didn't like you because you're Japanese.

RM: Yeah, sure.

TI: Did anyone say anything in particular to you that you recall that you knew was a hostile comment or stare or anything? Could you tell that it was hostile?

RM: No, the way look, you feel like, because it wasn't, wasn't friendly, the way talk. But later on everything is changed. But then they were told that divide 'em up, each team, so assign two. Then they tell purpose. You have to guard, safe so that they don't get killed or wounded. So they didn't exactly put a guard on it, but more or less, help 'em out.

TI: Well, I'm also curious; on those forty days, here you had just gone through extensive training on sort of, not only Japanese language but Japanese military tactics and techniques and weapons, were you able to share any of that information with the other U.S. Caucasian soldiers to help to prepare them?

RM: No, no contact on the ship. Of course, we go mess hall and things like that, see, or some of 'em curious and wanna friendly and people talk, but we're totally strangers until arrive at destination, then start the training, then we been assigned to unit so then you get to know the people, but before that, total strangers. And the way they hear about, the, antagonistic about the Japanese as enemies, see, some uncle got killed or somethin' like that and they hate. But we're an American, but they didn't figure that way, to look at Japanese and so...

TI: During the forty days, amongst the fourteen men, were there ever conversations about relatives who were still in Japan? Similar to you, you had brothers and parents and grandparents in Japan, were other men, did other men have similar situations like that?

RM: Well, similar, yes. Well, some had people, even though never been Japan, but the relatives or cousin or somebody or uncle, some in Japan. Of course, most of 'em, originally came from Japan so they have some relatives, and some of us has brothers. He never been Japan but then his brother might be in Japan. The different cases with individual that, to me, has some people never been Japan and came to me, and talk to me and, of course, the Japanese weak so even though went to school, speak in English. And such as Akiji Yoshimura, he write, he could give a talk so he give some lectures about some of the things, what we do, but he was one of man commissioned and I was team up with him and...

TI: Okay.

RM: Well, we don't come to that yet but later on we get there.

<End Segment 59> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.