Densho Digital Archive - George Morihiro Interview (denshovh-mgeorge

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MA: Today is December 17th and we're in the Densho office again in Seattle, and I'm here with George Morihiro. I'm Megan Asaka and this is Dana Hoshide on videography. So George, we left off talking about the battle of the Gothic Line, and I wanted to ask you a little bit about the end of the war and where you were when you heard about the atomic bomb that had been dropped on Hiroshima.

GM: Okay. At the end of the war, we pulled back from the Gothic Line to Leghorn, and we went to guard a quartermaster corps there, the supplies and things, and quite an easy job, but during this time, I got reported to the office and they told me I can go to school. And they said, "Would you like to go to the radio school?" So I was really happy about that, because that's one of my lines or hobby I wanted to get into, maybe a profession, even, repairing radios. And I took that chance, and they sent me down to Caserta, which was the headquarters for all the news and everything coming into Italy over the wire. And I got there and to my surprise, the school was on Morse code and not radio repairing. [Laughs] And it was a real disappointment for me because of the fact that I had to put on an earphone every day and sit in front of a typewriter and learn how to pick up Morse code. And if you ever listen to Morse code all day, it's torturous because all you hear is, "dit-dit-dot-dot-dot," and you're sitting at the typewriter typing away.

MA: How long did it take you to kind of master Morse code?

GM: Well, the Morse code, you can master it in a month, but to type it while it's coming out, it takes a little bit longer. But by this time, after a couple months, I was able to type eighty words a minute and pick up Morse code pretty good. And I was so mad at having this job, or going to school, 'cause I didn't like it, and it was during this time the war in Japan ended. It was right after they dropped the bomb, and we were the first ones in Italy to get this report from Japan that they surrendered, because we got all the news over the wire right away.

MA: What was your reaction?

GM: My reaction was I pulled the earphones off my head and slammed it on the table, and I said, "That's it." [Laughs] I had enough of it. But right after that, they sent us back to our outfits. There were six of us that went to school from the unit. And I was glad to get out of there. It was such a waste of time, that I didn't get anything out of it. You know, to learn Morse code is, we don't use Morse code in our life and only thing you know about Morse code is SOS.

MA: So when you heard about the bomb, the atomic bomb in Japan, you were relieved in a sense, 'cause you could, that meant the war was over and you could, you could leave.

GM: That's right, uh-huh.

MA: Did you ever think about -- 'cause I know your sister was in, in Hiroshima. Did you ever think about your family in Hiroshima?

GM: Well, not really, because I'm in a war zone and I've been through war, and our only wish while you're there is to go home. During the whole war, you always wish, "Boy, when this thing is over I can go home," hope you get home alive. And when the atomic bomb hit and they surrendered, to me, it was a great moment because it only meant that the war was over and I'll get to go home. So war is war, you know, and it doesn't matter if one person gets killed or thousands get killed. It's just numbers.