<Begin Segment 78>

TI: So we just finished the Burma campaign. And at this point you were awarded Legion of Merit. Can you, can you explain how that was awarded to you, because it wasn't, it didn't come from your commanding officer, it came from another source. So can you explain for what action and who actually prompted this award?

RM: Well, I don't know exactly how it happened but they didn't say anything at the time, but later on, when the mission was over, at the... Myitkyina, I was the last seventeen men and was sent to Camp Landis -- that man who got killed in my platoon and in his honor, in memory or whatever, made name after camp, and Camp Landis in Burma and I was sent there and they just form a 475th Infantry and all of it transferred to. But then original Marauder part they were send it to other places or some of 'em kept on goin' instead of rotating to stateside and new outfit 475th turn up the, later on they call it Mars Task Force. And, but that unit I was assigned, but then at the Nhpum Ga, artillery shell, shrapnel hit my wrist and right here still got mark, but I got wounded there. And then I went to aid station, they patch up, just put the bandage on and then that's it because Doctor Kolodny was battalion sergeant and he was working on the man whose guts blown out and so fixing him up so too busy, minor things don't worry about, just patch up. So they didn't report that I was wounded so I didn't get the Purple Heart. He tried to do a third time we put 'em in but still didn't hear anything. But anyway, that's beside the point, but my infection wounded and that's infection was, see, my wound was infected and blown up and I was sent to 14th Evac Hospital to fix that. And at the 14th General, so happened that Noel Coward, who was, he was a play writer, and also wrote a book, but he came and visited me and interviewed me but people heard that what happened in Burma so -- this in the Ledo, Assam Hospital, 14th Evac and he visited the hospital and so that incident in Burma, so he interviewed me and they took a picture and that shows that I had the big bandage on it in the picture. And so it showed that I was wounded but, anyway, I was... then I met Sergeant Jimmy Yamaguchi. He was to join the rest of the boys at New Delhi, but he happened to have a stomach ulcer and hospital decided to rotate it back to hospital in the stateside but he didn't want to go back to state, he want to join the boys and so he asked me, can I help him? So I talked to the adjutant, "This the situation. He's supposed to be sending back but he want to join and could he possible that if I escort him, could he join?" He says, "Okay, if you're, in case something happen, you take care of him." That's why the two of us, we got permission. Then meantime he said, "You gotta go to Delhi anyway, you gonna receive the Legion of Merit," that's what adjutant told me. And this is what happened, that, "You get it." So they didn't give me a citation on anything, anything.

TI: See, my understanding, though, is you were recommended for this award, was it either from headquarters because they, they asked the question, because the information at Walawbum that knocked out the ammunition dump was so valuable, I think the question was asked, "How did we get this information? Who got it?" And it was based on that that your name surfaced and that's why you were recommended for --

RM: Well, actually what happened was, nobody was recommended for anything, only thing's, message went up is, the message was so important that the General Stillwell want to know who did it, so, so asked General Merrill, then he ordered him find out who did it. Because they're four Nisei there attached to 2nd Battalion, and 2nd Battalion was at the roadblock, see, the first battalion and the reserve and 3rd Battalion was fighting by the river, river crossing, so four, then they look to see. They knew, friend, it was me, but they needed proof. Then those report pad, my initial was on. Naturally others were blank, nothing incidental. Well, may got some information, but nothing to do with intelligence, they talk about some understand, so wrote it down what they talkin' about, but that's nothing to do with military operations. But mine and also after troop movement, also mine. Because I was the one up there and I didn't even have time to eat lunch and go down there, nobody dug a foxhole for me. So I have to stay in somebody else's foxhole. And that's what I'm going over --

TI: So --

RM: -- and this happened to be this guy, his name is Kohler, see, and then --

TI: Right, you mentioned that.

RM: I mentioned that before, so...

TI: So, so, they awarded you the Legion of Merit and at New Delhi, General Merrill presented this to you.

RM: Yeah, yeah. So told me to report to General Merrill, went there, then met him and shook hands. He pin on and that was shaking hands, and then Signal Corps took picture of that, so that's proof that I got Legion of Merit. But after came back to stateside, the people didn't believe that I got a Legion of Merit. And some officer just finish OSS, tell that's a lieutenant come up to see it, "Sergeant, you're out of uniform," see. "What, sir?" Then he says, "You're wearing ribbon wrong." And says, "Purple Heart doesn't go before Bronze Star," says, says that. "This is not the Purple Heart, sir." And then I told him, he said, "What is it?" I said, "Legion of Merit." He didn't know the Legion of Merit, but he thought that was a faded. Of course, if you compare, you could see one is pink and purple, see, but that guy, faded, purple, it's like a pink. So the pink ribbon is before Bronze Star. I had a half a dozen Bronze Star.

TI: The Legion of Merit, for people who don't understand, at that point, was, that was right below the Medal of Honor wasn't it?

RM: No, no.

TI: Or Distinguished Service Cross?

RM: Next to Distinguished --

TI: Distinguished Service Cross.

RM: Distinguished Service Cross.

TI: Okay, so it's after that one.

RM: And above Silver Star, but now the other way, Silver Star is above it. At the time, so --

TI: But it is a very, very high honor. I mean, out of Merrill's --

RM: Yeah, it's the highest honor for the service.

TI: So how did you feel?

RM: The others are all valor.

TI: Yeah, how did you feel receiving the Legion of Merit?

RM: I kinda embarrassed because other people didn't get anything and, well, so I don't know, we get together and to people my nickname is "Medal," see, because I got so many medals to show, but others don't. But one thing, maybe I shouldn't say on this, but this man already passed away, but he is, he was University of Hawaii, you know, honor graduate. He mentioned -- other people told me that, I wasn't, hear myself directly -- but says, "That uneducated moron shouldn't get any medal." You know, uneducated. Sure, I'm only high school and he's a university graduate, so, but uneducated, right. But he's not the moron. If I'm a moron I don't think I could go on a team, you know. But after they go, I feel sorry for the guy. But then we had a reunion in Hawaii, went down there and he had a stroke, so I had to help him out to go bathroom and things like and he apologized to me. But he got drunk and probably carried... because envious, you know, because I was the only one outta... and then later on when I was inducted Hall of Fame, I --

TI: But Roy, before we get there, I'd, let's because I'm gonna get to the Ranger Hall of Fame.

RM: No, I want to mention but other got it, that is Hank Gosho.

<End Segment 78> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.